People v. Gittings

Defendant appealed from a conviction for violating an order of protection, arguing that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a directed verdict and that his trial counsel was ineffective for tendering certain jury instructions. The appellate court affirmed, finding that there was no viable basis for counsel to have moved for a directed verdict at the close of evidence and that while the tender of two instructions was objectively unreasonable, defendant did not demonstrate any prejudice from his attorney’s error in tendering jury instructions that did not explicitly state the knowledge requirement with respect to his conduct. (DeARMOND and ZENOFF, concurring)