People v. Aphaylath
| Decision Date | 13 November 1986 |
| Citation | 502 N.E.2d 998,68 N.Y.2d 945,510 N.Y.S.2d 83 |
| Parties | , 502 N.E.2d 998 The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. May APHAYLATH, Appellant. |
| Court | New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
The order of the Appellate Division, 117 A.D.2d 981, 499 N.Y.S.2d 823, should be reversed and the case remitted to Supreme Court, Monroe County, for a new trial.
Defendant, a Laotian refugee living in this country for approximately two years, was indicted and tried for the intentional murder of his Laotian wife of one month. At trial, defendant attempted to establish the affirmative defense of extreme emotional disturbance to mitigate the homicide (Penal Law § 125.25[1][a]; see, People v. Moye, 66 N.Y.2d 887, 498 N.Y.S.2d 767, 489 N.E.2d 736; People v. Casassa, 49 N.Y.2d 668, 427 N.Y.S.2d 769, 404 N.E.2d 1310) on the theory that the stresses resulting from his status of a refugee caused a significant mental trauma, affecting his mind for a substantial period of time, simmering in the unknowing subconscious and then inexplicably coming to the fore (People v. Patterson, 39 N.Y.2d 288, 303, 383 N.Y.S.2d 573, 347 N.E.2d 898, quoted in People v. Aphaylath, 117 A.D.2d 981, 982, 499 N.Y.S.2d 823 [Schnepp, J., dissenting] ). Although the immediate cause for the defendant's loss of control was his jealousy over his wife's apparent preference for an ex-boyfriend, the defense argued that under Laotian culture the conduct of the victim wife in displaying affection for another man and receiving phone calls from an unattached man brought shame on defendant and his family sufficient to trigger defendant's loss of control.
The defense was able to present some evidence of the Laotian culture through the cross-examination of two prosecution witnesses and through the testimony of defendant himself, although he was hampered by his illiteracy in both his native tongue and English. Defendant's ability to adequately establish his defense was impermissibly curtailed by the trial court's exclusion of the proffered testimony of two expert witnesses concerning the stress and disorientation encountered by Laotian refugees in attempting to assimilate into the American culture. It appears from the record before us that the sole basis on which the court excluded the expert testimony was because "neither one * *...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
People v. Powell
... ... 14 To the extent the trial court opinion can be read as requiring the expert to have personal knowledge of defendant in order to qualify as a witness, that determination was in error ( see People v. Miller , 91 N.Y.2d 372, 379, 670 N.Y.S.2d 978, 694 N.E.2d 61 [1998] ; People v. Aphaylath , 68 N.Y.2d 945, 947, 510 N.Y.S.2d 83, 502 N.E.2d 998 [1986] ). 15 Although the dissent repeatedly refers to "the science of false confessions," the determination before the trial court was more nuanced. As demonstrated in our holding in People v. LeGrand, 8 N.Y.3d 449, 835 N.Y.S.2d 523, 867 ... ...
-
People v. Taylor
... ... Henson, 33 N.Y.2d 63, 349 N.Y.S.2d 657, 304 N.E.2d 358); "piquerism" (People v. Drake, 129 A.D.2d 963, 965, 514 N.Y.S.2d 280), and the stress suffered by Laotian refugees in attempting to assimilate into American culture (People v. Aphaylath, 68 N.Y.2d 945, 510 N.Y.S.2d 83, 502 N.E.2d 998) ... Our holding is also consistent with the decisions of the courts in other jurisdictions where evidence of rape trauma syndrome has been held to be admissible (see, e.g., State v. Radjenovich, 138 Ariz. 270, 674 P.2d 333; State v ... ...
-
Bui v. State
... ... Ms. Cook based her testimony on a review of letters written by Bui when he lived in Vietnam and from talking with people who knew Bui in Vietnam and when he first arrived in the United States in 1975. Ms. Cook testified that Bui suffered from depression in Vietnam and ... at 49 n. 47 (citing People v. Poddar, 10 Cal.3d 750, 518 P.2d 342, 111 Cal.Rptr. 910 (1974), and People v. Aphaylath, 68 N.Y.2d 945, 502 N.E.2d 998, 510 N.Y.S.2d 83 (1986)) (emphasis added). Paradoxically, then, seemingly contradictory defenses may share a core ... ...
-
People v. Bedell
... ... Escobales, 146 Misc.2d 573, 551 N.Y.S.2d 757; People v. Dowd, 140 Misc.2d 436, 530 N.Y.S.2d 733). In concluding that it lacked discretion to grant the motion, the court erred as a matter of [210 A.D.2d 926] law (see, People v. Aphaylath, 68 N.Y.2d 945, 510 N.Y.S.2d 83, 502 N.E.2d 998; People v. Williams, 56 N.Y.2d 236, 240-241, 451 N.Y.S.2d 690, 436 N.E.2d 1292) ... Given the overriding purposes of punishment (see, People v. Oliver, 1 N.Y.2d 152, 160, 151 N.Y.S.2d 367, 134 N.E.2d 197), a ... court determining ... ...
-
Expert witnesses
...such testimony bears on the issue of the standard of care owed by the defendant to the plaintiff. Cultural values People v. Aphaylath , 68 N.Y.2d 945, 510 N.Y.S.2d 83 (1986). In a murder prosecution, the trial court erred in refusing to admit expert testimony on the stress and disorientatio......
-
Expert witnesses
...as such testimony bears on the issue of the standard of care owed by the defendant to the plaintif. Cultural values People v. Aphaylath , 68 N.Y.2d 945, 510 N.Y.S.2d 83 (1986). In a murder prosecution, the trial court erred in refusing to admit expert testimony on the stress and disorientat......
-
Expert witnesses
...as such testimony bears on the issue of the standard of care owed by the defendant to the plaintif. Cultural values People v. Aphaylath , 68 N.Y.2d 945, 510 N.Y.S.2d 83 (1986). In a murder prosecution, the trial court erred in refusing to admit expert testimony on the stress and disorientat......
-
Expert witnesses
...such testimony bears on the issue of the standard of care owed by the defendant to the plaintiff. Cultural values People v. Aphaylath , 68 N.Y.2d 945, 510 N.Y.S.2d 83 (1986). In a murder prosecution, the trial court erred in refusing to admit expert testimony on the stress and disorientatio......