People v. Butler

— Appeal by defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Beldock, J.), rendered June 26, 1981, convicting him of burglary in the second degree, possession of burglar’s tools, and criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree, after a nonjury trial, and imposing sentence. Judgment reversed, on the law, and new trial ordered. Defendant was denied the effective assistance of counsel. “[T]he right to effective representation includes the right to assistance by an attorney * * * who is familiar with, and able to employ at trial basic principles of criminal law and…