A defendant convicted on a weapons possession charge will have a new trial after a Brooklyn appeals panel faulted the trial judge for answering a juror’s questions. “Here, the Supreme Court erred when it received and answered a series of questions from a juror inside the robing room and outside the presence of the defendant, defense counsel, the prosecutor, and the other jurors,” the Appellate Division, Second Department, wrote yesterday in People v. Rivera, 2009-11428.
In the underlying case, Anner Rivera was facing a charge of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon when a juror sent questions to the judge, Brooklyn Acting Supreme Court Justice Neil Firetog (See Profile). Among its topics, the juror asked about when Rivera could be held responsible “by the law.” Firetog answered the questions and the jury subsequently convicted Rivera.
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