ALBANY – A new trial has been ordered for a defendant whose counsel failed to educate himself about the alleged victim’s medical problem, leaving him unprepared to cross examine a key prosecution witness, an appeals court ruled.
The Appellate Division, Third Department, panel ordered a new trial for Vincent Cassala. The 53-year-old defendant has been serving a 15-year sentence in state prison since his 2012 conviction in Albany Supreme Court for first- and third-degree attempted rape, engaging in a criminal sexual act and endangering the welfare of a child.
