People v. Borum

In question is the validity of the Appellate Division’s dismissal of the defendant’s appeal for failure to prosecute. The dismissal was ordered, on the district attorney’s motion, some months after the court had denied the defendant’s application for permission to appeal, “as a poor person,” on the original papers comprising the record. The ground for the denial of the defendant’s application was apparently that urged by the prosecutor, that the appeal lacked substantial merit.

The right to appeal is assured to all defendants, rich and poor alike, by section 517 of the Code of Criminal…