Benjamin v. Fischer

SUMMARY ORDER

In 1997, Donald Benjamin was convicted, following a jury trial, on charges of second-degree burglary and third-degree robbery in violation of New York law. He was sentenced to a total of eight-years’ imprisonment. Benjamin unsuccessfully challenged his conviction in the state courts on the ground, inter alia, that the jury, by improperly probing a redacted defense exhibit, had been exposed to prej*762udicial extrinsic information, specifically, the fact of Benjamin’s prior robbery arrests. In rejecting this argument, the Appellate Division, First Department, observed that the defense…