Pro Bono Client Wins Criminal Appeal, Reversing and Vacating Burglary Convictions

Paul, Weiss won an appeal on behalf of a pro bono client in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, reversing her conviction on burglary charges and vacating her judgment.

In their case filed in 2016, prosecutors charged our client with third-degree burglary, third-degree conspiracy to commit burglary and third-degree theft in connection with a burglary at a mini-mart during which two individuals stole lottery tickets and cigarettes. At trial, no witness identified our client as one of the burglars and no physical evidence linked her to the burglary or the stolen property. Instead, the prosecution relied solely on grainy surveillance footage of the burglary, blurry still shots taken from surveillance footage from nearby gas stations where some of the stolen lottery tickets purportedly were scanned, and circumstantial evidence that our client was acquainted with her co-defendant. A jury convicted our client on all three charges.

A Paul, Weiss team, brought onto the case via a partnership with the New Jersey State Office of the Public Defender, represented our client on appeal. The team argued, among other things, that the identification evidence against our client was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she was one of the burglars. A three-judge panel of the Appellate Division agreed, reversing our client’s convictions and vacating her judgment of conviction.

Paul, Weiss litigation associate Emily Vance argued the appeal. The Paul, Weiss team was supervised by litigation partner Harris Fischman. New Jersey First Assistant Deputy Public Defender Alison Perrone also was on the brief.