Philip R. Firth

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Charge:	Driving Recklessly or Dangerously
Sentence:	$50 fine
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	1956
Year Convicted:	1956
Year Cleared:	1957
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New York
County or Region of Crime:	Monroe
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Philip R. Firth was wrongly convicted in 1956 of a "traffic infraction" under New York State's Vehicle and Traffic Law, § 2, subd. 29. Firth's prosecution was based on an incident on the evening of June 9, 1956, on a two-lane rural highway in Monroe County, New York. While passing another car going in the same direction, Firth's vehicle struck a young girl riding a bicycle in the opposite direction, smashing her bicycle and causing her serious injuries. Witnesses believed his car was going 60 to 65 miles an hour, however he was not charged with violating the posted speed limit or reckless driving. After his conviction Firth was fined $50. Firth appealed, and "the County Judge reversed on the law, vacated the judgment and ordered the fine remitted, holding that the above-quoted statute is unconstitutional because too vague and indefinite to be enforced." The State appealed. On December 5, 1957 the New York Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's reversal of Firth's conviction and remittance of his fine, based on the unconstitutionality of the statute because it was too vague and indefinite to constitute a sufficient definition of criminal conduct and it contained no sufficient standard by which a driver's conduct may be tested."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On December 5, 1957 the New York Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's reversal of Firth's conviction and remittance of his fine based on the unconstitutionality of the statute because it was too vague and indefinite to constitute a sufficient definition of criminal conduct and it contains no sufficient standard by which a driver's conduct may be tested."
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Was Perpetrator Identified?
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Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
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Information Source 1:	"People v. Firth, 3 NY 2d 472 (NY Court of Appeals 1957) (Reversing conviction and ordering remittance of fine based on unconstitutionality of the statute because it was too vague and indefinite to constitute a sufficient definition of criminal conduct and it contains no sufficient standard by which a driver's conduct may be tested.)"
Information Location 1:	"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6722499490322498986&q=2015+insufficient+evidence&hl=en&as_sdt=4,33"
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Philip R. Firth

Charge:

Driving Recklessly or Dangerously

Sentence:

$50 fine

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

1956

Year Convicted:

1956

Year Cleared:

1957

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

Monroe

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

Information Location 1:

"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6722499490322498986&q=2015+insufficient+evidence&hl=en&as_sdt=4,33"

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Book About Case:

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