People v Riley

Holding The court affirmed the conviction for second-degree murder, finding that the circumstantial evidence, including video of the defendant wielding a shotgun and his subsequent conduct, sufficiently supported the inference that he intended to kill the victim. The court also rejected the ineffective assistance of counsel claim, determining that the defense’s focus on physical participation rather than mental capacity was a reasonable trial strategy.

The court’s words

whether any valid line of reasoning and permissible inferences could lead a rational person to the conclusion reached by the fact finder

2026 NY Slip Op 04669, at the official text

the only reasonable conclusion to be drawn from the totality of the evidence was that defendant [alone], [or] acting in concert with [the] codefendant

2026 NY Slip Op 04669, at the official text

defense counsel's decision to focus on defendant's physical participation in the charged crime—his actus reus—as opposed to either defendant's infancy or alleged mental culpability—his mens rea—was a reasonable and legitimate trial strategy

2026 NY Slip Op 04669, at the official text