A jury has recently found a New York City man named Dexter Taylor guilty, and it is on the way to becoming a landmark Second Amendment case.
Taylor was found guilty of second-degree criminal possession of a loaded weapon, four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, five counts of criminal possession of a firearm, second-degree criminal possession of five or more firearms, unlawful possession of pistol ammunition, violation of certificate of registration, prohibition on unfinished frames or receivers.
Dexter, 52, is a New York native and software engineer who started gunsmithing as a hobby a few years ago.
From Redstate:
Taylor, a 52-year-old New York native and a software engineer, discovered the world of gunsmithing years ago. He decided to take it up as a hobby and possibly turn it into a business later. However, when a joint ATF/NYPD task force discovered he was legally buying parts from various companies, they opened up an investigation that led to a SWAT raid and arrest.
He is currently being jailed on Rikers Island as he awaits sentencing. Taylor’s conviction highlights the ongoing battle for gun rights. During an interview with Vinoo Varghese, Taylor’s defense lawyer, he detailed how Taylor’s trial proceeded and highlighted a distinct bias in favor of the prosecution.
During the lockdown, Taylor got into building stuff to keep himself busy.
“I found out that you can actually legally buy a receiver and you can machine that receiver to completion, and you buy your parts and you put them together and you’ve got a pistol or a rifle. And once I saw that I was hooked. I was like, ‘This is the coolest thing ever. This is the most cool thing you could possibly do in your machine shop,'” he said during an interview before he was convicted.
What’s getting a lot of attention is what took place while Varghese was giving his opening statement in defense of Taylor.
Judge Abena Darkeh interrupted Varhese multiple times and then told the defense to stop mentioning the Second Amendment during the trial.
“She told us, ‘Do not bring the Second Amendment into this courtroom. It doesn’t exist here. So you can’t argue Second Amendment. This is New York,'” Varhese told a reporter.
Varghese then filed paperwork to “preserve these arguments for appeal,” but the judge “rejected these arguments, and she went out of her way to limit me.”
Meanwhile, the prosecution painted Taylor as a horrible man who was building scary firearms in the basement. They also blocked Taylor’s family in the courtroom and refused to let his upstairs neighbor, who knew about Taylor’s hobby, testify on his behalf.
It gets even more devious, Varghese knew that the odds were stacked against him so he decided to shape the case for jury nullification. Which happens when a members of the jury believe the defendant violated the law but think the law is stupid.
“There’s no crime here, there’s no allegation of violence,” Varghese recounted, saying, “I got up and said, ‘You’re going to learn what Dexter is, who he is. You’re going to learn that he never fired these guns.’”
That’s when the judge interrupted again and ordered lawyers into her chambers.
Varghese added that Darkeh also told the jury they could face consequences if they did not vote to convict Taylor. “I actually argued that jury nullification is allowed because there is some law from the High Court of New York that talks about lawyers who made jury nullification arguments. And basically, they said that judges shouldn’t encourage it, but they can’t prevent it. I actually made a pitch directly to Judge Darkeh to allow me to argue during nullification. She, of course, rejected that,” he said.
He added: “She basically said, ‘You must vote guilty’ without saying ‘you must vote guilty.’”
He characterized Judge Darkeh as “the most aggressive prosecutor in the room.”
Taylor is scheduled to be sentenced on May 13, 2024, and many fear that Darkeh will make an example of him. He faces 10 to 18 years in prison.
Below is an in-depth interview with Varghese explaining what took place.
