This column reports on several significant, representative decisions handed down recently in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Judge Denis R. Hurley, granting a habeas petition, held that (1) counsel’s failure to seek accommodations at trial for his hearing-impaired client amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel, and (2) prejudice had to be presumed. Judge Raymond J. Dearie upheld an indictment charging securities fraud relating to virtual currency. And Judge Eric N. Vitaliano found that a bank had immunity under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 18 U.S.C. §5318(g)(3)(A), for allegedly reporting plaintiffs’ activities to government authorities, resulting in the loss of property.

Habeas—Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

In Pierotti v. Harris, Superintendent, Green Haven Correctional Facility, 03 CV 3958 (EDNY, Oct. 11, 2018), Judge Hurley granted habeas relief to petitioner, who had been convicted of murder following a state jury trial in 2000, where trial counsel, though aware of petitioner’s severe hearing impairment, failed to seek adequate accommodations for his client.