ALBANY – An Albany County prosecutor who “strayed far beyond…well-defined parameters” in vouching for the credibility of his witnesses and who mocked the defense denied the defendant his constitutional right to a fair trial, a unanimous panel of the Appellate Division, Third Department, has held.
The court said that Assistant District Attorney Brian Conley’s summation was so improper that Lukee Forbes is entitled to a new trial on assault and robbery charges. It was especially critical of Conley’s suggestion that the jury, in order to believe Forbes, had to conclude that Albany County Judge Stephen Herrick (See Profile) as well as the district attorney’s office were engaged in a conspiracy against the defendant.
