From: Holley Carnright
Dated: August 7, 2017
Re: Press Release – Jason Berry and William Keener Appeals
Last week, the Appellate Division Third Department affirmed judgments of conviction in the following cases:
People v. Jason Berry
In March 2015, the defendant was convicted upon his plea of guilty of the crime of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a Class B felony.
The defendant, a second felony drug offender, was sentenced to a determinate state prison term of eight years with three years of post-release supervision.
On appeal, the defendant claimed that he was improperly sentenced as a predicate felony offender. The Appellate Division Third Department, however, rejected this claim.
On appeal, defendant is represented by Assistant Public Defender Michael K. Gould. Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.
People v. William Keener
In February 2015, the defendant was convicted upon a jury verdict of the crime of Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the First Degree, a Class E felony, as a result of an incident which occurred in the early morning hours of August 31, 2013. At that time, an Ulster Police Officer discovered that the license plate on defendant’s vehicle was registered to another vehicle. At the time of the stop, defendant appeared intoxicated and subsequently failed six of the seven field sobriety tests which were administered. The defendant was, however, acquitted of the charge of driving while intoxicated.
On appeal, the defendant claimed that the Court’s Sandoval ruling which permitted the People to inquire into his 2011 Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree conviction was an abuse of discretion and that the verdict was not supported by legally sufficient evidence. Defendant also asserted that he was denied meaningful representation. However, after addressing each of these claims, the Appellate Division Third Department rejected them and affirmed his conviction.
On appeal, the defendant is represented by George P. Ferro, Esq. of Albany, New York. Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.