NACDL - Myers v. Schneiderman

Myers v. Schneiderman

Brief for Amicus Curiae National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Myers v. Schneiderman

Brief Details

Case No.: APL-2016-00129
Brief Filed: April 20, 2017
Jurisdiction: New York Court of Appeals

Key Topics in the Brief

White Collar | Statutory Construction | Rule of Lenity | Assisted Suicide Statute | Criminal Penalties on Physicians | Legislative Intent | Vagueness

Briefs

Myers-v-Schneiderman-Amicus.pdf

Prior Decision

Case below 140 A.D.3d 51 (1st Dep’t. 2016).

Argument(s)

The lower courts erred by considering only the dictionary definition of the word ‘suicide’ and ignoring other important rules of statutory construction. The Appellate Division failed to consider whether its interpretation of the statute was consistent with legislative intent. The appellate division failed to construe the statute in accordance with the rule of lenity. In the alternative, the Appellate Division’s interpretation should be rejected because the assisted suicide statute, as applied to physician appellants, would be unconstitutionally vague.