On February 3, 2017, after a six-year odyssey through the criminal justice system, Cesar Villavicencio was acquitted of murder and released from custody. ECBAWM partner Earl Ward was able to demonstrate to the jury that the medical examiner’s conclusion that the deceased died from strangulation was wrong and, further, that the death was caused by a drug overdose.

In January 2016 Jaime DeJesus, who was serving a 20-year sentence for assault in the first degree, had his conviction overturned by the First Department appellate court. At the request of his appellate attorneys, who believed in his innocence, ECBAWM agreed to handle his retrial. After a five-week trial, the jury deliberated for less than three hours and acquitted Mr. DeJesus of all charges. ECBAWM partners Earl Ward and Elizabeth Saylor tried the case.

After a three-week trial, Oral Nicholas Hillary was acquitted of the 2011 murder of Garrett Phillips, a 12-year-old resident of Potsdam, New York.

Hillary’s legal team, led by ECBAWM partner Earl S. Ward and co-counsel Norman Siegel, argued that the lack of evidence against Mr. Hillary mandated that he be acquitted of all charges. As Mr. Ward stated in his closing argument, “There is absolutely no direct evidence tying Mr. Hillary to this crime. Nick Hillary is not the type of person that would walk into a room, put his hands around the neck of a child and strangle him, kill that child. That is not Nick Hillary.” Judge Felix J. Cantena agreed, finding Mr. Hillary not guilty of all charges.

The New York Times extensively covered the trial, along with  North County Public Radio and ABC News. You can watch Judge Cantena read the verdict here.

A New York judge rejected prosecutors’ attempts to use controversial DNA methods in the upcoming murder trial of Oral Nicholas Hillary, who is represented by ECBAWM attorney Earl Ward and co-counsel Norman Siegel. The August 26 decision is a significant victory for Mr. Hillary, who has maintained his innocence in the 2011 murder of a 12-year-old boy in upstate New York.

Earlier this year, prosecutors stated their intention to use a computer program known as STRmix to analyze a minuscule scraping from the victim’s fingernails, even though previous attempts to link Mr. Hillary’s DNA to the victim were unsuccessful. Mr. Ward and the defense team challenged the reliability of STRmix at two hearings held in July and August. Judge Felix J. Catena for St. Lawrence County Court agreed with the defense that the program lacked validation and ruled that its results are inadmissible.

The trial is scheduled to begin on September 6 in Canton, New York.

ECBAWM partner Earl Ward is representing Oral “Nick” Hillary, a soccer coach in Potsdam, New York, accused in a racially-charged case of killing his ex-girlfriend’s son. As Earl told Potsdam’s 7 News, “This is a case that I think has torn apart the community up there in some ways and I think everyone wants to make sure that justice is done, and justice, as far as I’m concerned, is a verdict that clears Mr. Hillary.” Hillary’s trial is scheduled to begin in August.