Bartolo Genao Case Summary

The Second Circuit Court handles many major cases. One of these major cases was Runner vs. the New York Stock Exchange. In this case, Victor J. Runner, the plaintiff, was suing the New York Stock Exchange for injuries he had sustained while doing work for them. The defendant issued “an appeal from a judgement imposing liability upon them pursuant to Section 240(1) of New York's Labor Law” (Lipmann, 2009). The defendant acknowledged what had happened to injure the plaintiff. While on the job, “the plaintiff and several co-workers had been directed to move a large reel of wire, weighing some 800 pounds, down a set of about four stairs. The workers were instructed to tie one end of a ten-foot length of rope to the reel and then to wrap the rope around a metal bar placed horizontally across a door jamb on
the same level as the reel. The loose end of the rope was then held by plaintiff and two co-workers while two other co-workers began to push the reel down the stairs” (Lipmann, 2009). The reel ended up jamming the plaintiff’s hands as it was falling. Although there was evidence that this was not a safe working environment for the employees having to do that task, the jury had initially sided with the defendants. This decision was because there was no gravity-related risk that was necessary for liability to be found. However, the District Court ordered a new trial for damages on the basis that there was not proper protection for the employees, leading to the plaintiff’s injuries (Cabranes, 2009). Instead of having to do a retrial, the defendant and the plaintiff agreed to settle.
Another case that the second circuit handled was United States of America v.
Roman Bartolo Genao. Genao is a citizen of the United States, but a national of the Dominican Republic, and “he was convicted in New York state court of first-degree burglary and first-degree robbery” (Lynch, 2017). He served a six-year sentence, but when he was released in 2015, he was deported. He later tried to reenter the country and was arrested again. However, this arrest brought into light that Genao had been incorrectly convicted originally: “Although the PSR correctly stated that Genao had been convicted under New York Penal Law § 140.30(3) for first-degree burglary with a dangerous instrument, it incorrectly identified Genao's robbery conviction as one of second-degree robbery of a motor vehicle under New York Penal Law § 160.10(3), when his actual crime of conviction was first-degree robbery with a dangerous instrument under New York Penal Law § 160.15(3)” (Lynch, 2017). Genao issued an appeal of his prison sentence, because the process had not been performed correctly. The case was “vacated and remanded” (Lynch, 2017) because the district court found no reason to side with
Genao. Another case handled by the second circuit is the United States vs. Bert. Raheem Bert was arrested when the police received a call about five black males trespassing and when they showed up they found Bert. Bert had a gun with him, which lead to Officer Fahim fighting Bert. He was arrested and charged with “a two-count indictment charging him with possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(k), and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)” (Pooler, 2015). Everything seemed to be going fine until the district court “allowed eleven months of unexcluded time to accumulate while Bert remained in custody with his suppression motion under advisement, therefore, violating the Speedy Trial Act” (Pooler, 2015). Bert appealed the case and the district court’s decision to “dismiss the case without prejudice” had been reversed.
Overall, the Second Circuit Court handles several important cases and plays a major role in the United States Court system.