Syracuse, NY - A coercion defense worked once before for Marteasha Glen so why not try it again? That’s apparently the strategy defense lawyer Lisa Cuomo is planning in defending Glen against a residential burglary charge. Cuomo told Onondaga County Judge Tony Aloi she intends to present a battered woman defense for Glen in the case where she’s accused of...
Syracuse, NY - A coercion defense worked once before for Marteasha Glen so why not try it again?
That’s apparently the strategy defense lawyer Lisa Cuomo is planning in defending Glen against a residential burglary charge.
Cuomo told Onondaga County Judge Tony Aloi she intends to present a battered woman defense for Glen in the case where she’s accused of participating with a boyfriend in burglarizing a DeWitt home in April.
Seven years ago, Glen was accused of participating with another boyfriend to commit a gruesome murder and then use the victim’s stolen credit cards for a post-killing shopping spree.
Her lawyer in that case claimed Glen knew nothing about the murder her boyfriend was going to commit and was coerced through fear into accompanying him on the shopping spree.
A jury acquitted her of murder and robbery, finding her guilty only of felony grand larceny for which she was sentenced to 1 1/3 to four years in prison. Boyfriend Henry Holifield was convicted of murder and is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The encore coercion defense may turn out to be a two-edged sword, however.
Mike KasmarekAssistant District Attorney Mike Kasmarek told Aloi the prosecution would be looking to question any defense psychiatric expert who testifies in the new burglary case about how Glen used the same strategy in her 2003 murder trial.
That’s when Cuomo said the judge already had indicated the prosecution would not be able to bring up the old murder case in Glen’s new burglary trial.
No so, Aloi quickly pointed out, noting that earlier conversation occurred during a legal discussion where there had been no mention of a battered woman defense for Glen.
Cuomo’s decision to present a psychiatric defense against the burglary charge certainly could open the door to the court allowing Kasmarek to explore how that “my boyfriend forced me to do it” argument had been used by Glen in the earlier murder case.
"Once bitten, twice shy," too old a musical reference
Onondaga County Judge Bill WalshCounty Court Judge Bill Walsh might have been trying to show how cool he was when it came to his knowledge of hit bands and their top songs. But he ended up just showing his age.
Brandon Smith was in court Monday facing his second probation violation and a disgruntled judge threatening to send him to state prison for 1 1/3 to four years.
Defense lawyer Eric Jeschke asked the judge to consider a one-year local sentence and Smith began trying to explain his way out of the trouble.
His first probation violation had involved allegations he hadn’t paid restitution in a burglary case, but Smith noted he’d gone out and gotten two jobs when Walsh gave him a second chance in December and restored him to probation.
The problem this time was that Smith hadn’t attended counseling as required, but he explained that was because he couldn’t afford the $65 counseling fee while paying the required restitution.
Walsh didn’t seem to be moved by the defendant’s explanation. Instead, he asked if Smith was familiar with the band Great White.
Smith gave sort of a puzzled look and shook his head in the negative.
They had the hit song “Once Bitten, Twice Shy,” Walsh said, trying to prompt the defendant’s memory. But Smith continued shaking his head, forcing the judge to explain he mentioned the song title as a reference to how he was feeling about Smith.
Despite Smith’s lack of familiarity with that late 80’s top-ten hit, Walsh relented on the state prison threat and sentenced the defendant to the one year of local jail time.