People v. Scott

• Decision Date: 11 June 2015
• Docket Number: No. 87,87
• Citation: 25 N.Y.3d 1107,2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 04874,14 N.Y.S.3d 308,35 N.E.3d 476
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Hakim B. SCOTT, Appellant.
• Court: New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

25 N.Y.3d 1107
35 N.E.3d 476
14 N.Y.S.3d 308
2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 04874

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent
v.
Hakim B. SCOTT, Appellant.

No. 87

Court of Appeals of New York.

June 11, 2015.

Lynn W.L. Fahey, Appellate Advocates, New York City (Steven R. Bernhard and Paul Skip Laisure of counsel), for appellant.

Kenneth P. Thompson, District Attorney, Brooklyn (Seth M. Lieberman and Leonard Joblove of counsel), for respondent.

OPINION OF THE COURT

MEMORANDUM.

35 N.E.3d 476

The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed.

In the early morning hours of December 7, 2008, following a night of heavy drinking, José Sucuzhanay and his brother Romel Sucuzhanay were walking home in their Brooklyn neighborhood while supportively holding one another. The brothers crossed in front of an SUV which was stopped at a red light. In the SUV were Keith Phoenix in the driver's seat, Demetrius Nathaniel in the passenger seat, and defendant Hakim Scott in the backseat. As the brothers passed in front of the SUV, Phoenix yelled homophobic slurs from the car window. In response, one of the brothers either lifted his foot to kick the SUV or actually kicked it. Defendant exited the vehicle, raised a glass beer bottle and smashed it over José's head, causing

35 N.E.3d 477

José to fall to the ground. Defendant thereafter chased Romel down the block, carrying the remains of the broken bottle. Phoenix, at some point, exited the SUV, removed an aluminum baseball bat from the car and proceeded to beat José with the bat. Defendant, upon returning to the scene, fled in the SUV along with Phoenix and Nathaniel. José was left unconscious and died from his injuries the next day.

At trial, the People asserted two alternative theories of liability: (1) that defendant was acting in concert with Phoenix, and (2) that defendant alone caused José's death. Following trial, defendant was convicted of manslaughter in the first degree, for the death of José, and attempted assault in the first degree, for his actions toward Romel. Defendant was sentenced to consecutive prison terms of 25 years on the manslaughter conviction and 12 years for attempted assault. The Appellate Division reduced the term of imprisonment for the attempted assault conviction from 12 years to four years, and otherwise affirmed the convictions, holding that the evidence was legally sufficient to sustain the convictions (see People v. Scott, 106 A.D.3d 1030, 964 N.Y.S.2d 665 [2d Dept.2013] ). Defendant argues that his conviction for first degree manslaughter should be overturned because the record lacks legally sufficient evidence to support the...