People v. Ransom (Ronald)

Opinion

The People of the State of New York, Respondent,

against

Ronald Ransom, Appellant.

Ronald Ransom, appellant pro se. Hempstead Village Prosecutor's Office, for respondent (no brief filed).

Appeal from judgments of the Justice Court of the Village of Hempstead, Nassau County (Miguel A. Alvarado, J.), rendered December 30, 2015. The judgments convicted defendant, after a nonjury trial, of failing to obtain a permit for electrical work and hazardous wiring on premises, respectively, and imposed sentences.

ORDERED that the judgments of conviction are reversed, on the law and as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, the accusatory instruments are dismissed, and the fines, if paid, are remitted.

Defendant was charged in separate accusatory instruments with violating Village of Hempstead Code §§ 60-28 (A) (failure to obtain a permit for electrical work) and 60-35 (hazardous wiring on premises), respectively. On July 8, 2014, a nonjury trial was conducted immediately following defendant's trial in another matter (see People v Ransom, ___ Misc 3d ___, 2019 NY Slip Op _____ [appeal No. 2016-415 N CR], decided herewith). The two trials together took a little over 2¼ hours to complete, resulting in a single 76-page transcript. The Justice Court reserved decision and, 540 days later, on December 30, 2015, issued a written decision convicting defendant of the code violations.

For the reasons stated in People v Ransom (___ Misc 3d ___, 2019 NY Slip Op _____ [appeal No. 2016-415 N CR], decided herewith), the judgments of conviction are reversed and the accusatory instruments are dismissed.

ADAMS, P.J., GARGUILO and RUDERMAN, JJ., concur.

ENTER:
Paul Kenny
Chief Clerk
Decision Date: May 02, 2019