A Bronx, N.Y., judge has thrown out a mentally retarded man’s assault and attempted-murder convictions, holding that the “numerous and profound errors” his attorney made throughout the trial constituted ineffective assistance of counsel.
Defense attorney Arlen Yalkut’s mistakes included failing to contest the victim’s identification of the defendant via a photo array from his hospital bed, even though the victim had been attacked from behind in a poorly lit stairwell and had been so badly injured he could neither speak nor recognize his own brother.
