People v. Alvarez

RIVERA, J. (dissenting).

Our State Constitution guarantees every defendant effective assistance of counsel, which we have defined as "meaningful representation" ( People v. Benevento, 91 N.Y.2d 708, 712, 674 N.Y.S.2d 629, 697 N.E.2d 584 [1998] ; People v. Baldi, 54 N.Y.2d 137, 147, 444 N.Y.S.2d 893, 429 N.E.2d 400 [1981] ; see also People v. Stultz, 2 N.Y.3d 277, 284, 778 N.Y.S.2d 431, 810 N.E.2d 883 [2004] [extending the "meaningful representation" standard to appellate counsel] ). In the appellate context, "[a]ppellate advocacy is meaningful if *124it reflects a competent grasp of the facts, the…