On appeal, the Additional Sessions judge confirmed the conviction of three defendants but acquitted two.
The Supreme Court has thrown out the convictions of nine defendants who are awaiting new trials, while seven others are awaiting new death-penalty hearings.
Mr. Sandiford was a major prosecution witness in the trials, which led to the convictions of six defendants on charges ranging from manslaughter to riot.
By 1984, Mr. Barnes's courtroom testimony had resulted in the conviction of 14 defendants.
New York state justice Charles J. Tejada vacated the convictions of five defendants on December 19, 2002.
In one complex heroin case, he was responsible for the conviction of 48 defendants.
The convictions of Mr. Salaam and four other defendants were thrown out by a judge last year.
A January 1920 trial resulted in the conviction of six defendants on charges of second degree murder.
In two years, the Justice Department has obtained convictions of 338 defendants in the largest savings industry prosecutions in the nation.
It overturned the convictions of two defendants in the case.
