Justice Sheryl L. Parker
Defendants moved pursuant to C.P.L. §440.10 to vacate the judgment of their 1993 convictions for kidnapping in the second degree. Defendants contended they were denied their right to the effective assistance of counsel. Defendants argued that their attorneys’ failed to investigate, contact, and present witnesses in possession of material evidence regarding the vehicle used in the abduction. Defendants also contended that the prosecution failed to disclose information that the eyewitness had a history of acting as a police informant. They argued that this violated their constitutional right to due process under Brady v. Maryland. The court denied defendants’ motions in their entirety, determining that their attorneys made earnest efforts to show that the eyewitness was unreliable, that the identification of the vehicle was suspect, and that the absence of forensic evidence was damning. The court also held that a Brady violation did not occur because no information that was favorable to defendants and material to their guilt was to be found.
