People v. Causer

Decision Date17 January 1974
Citation43 A.D.2d 899,351 N.Y.S.2d 236
CourtNew York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
PartiesPEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Homer J. CAUSER, Appellant.

David A. Shults, Hornell, for appellant.

John J. Finnerty, Bath, for respondent.

Before MARSH, J.P., and MOULE, CARDAMONE and SIMONS, JJ.

MEMORANDUM.

In affirming this judgment of conviction we deem it necessary to repeat the often reiterated admonition that a prosecutor in summation must not make himself an unsworn witness to support his case by his veracity and official position (Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78, 88, 55 S.Ct. 629, 79 L.Ed. 1314; People v. Lovello, 1 N.Y.2d 436, 439, 154 N.Y.S.2d 8, 9, 136 N.E.2d 483, 484; People v. Castelo, 24 A.D.2d 827). The reason why such conduct is uniformly condemned is because a public prosecutor is a quasi-judicial officer representing the State and presumed to act not to obtain a conviction but impartially in the interest only of justice (People v. Fielding, 158 N.Y. 542, 547, 53 N.E. 497, 498). While the prosecutor's conduct in this case was uncalled for and improper, as he himself recognized and as evidenced by his apology, we agree with the...

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4 cases
  • People v. Joseph P.
    • United States
    • New York Justice Court
    • October 22, 1980
    ...while the District Attorney is a quasi-judicial officer, see e. g. People v. Kyser, 52 A.D.2d 1072, 384 N.Y.S.2d 332, People v. Causer, 43 A.D.2d 899, 351 N.Y.S.2d 236, and the Court will not direct the People how to try its case, see Hassan v. Magistrate's Court of the City of New York, 20......
  • People v. Nuzzi
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court
    • May 21, 1985
    ...454 N.E.2d 522; People v. Fielding, 158 N.Y. 542, 547, 53 N.E. 497; People v. Kyser, 52 A.D.2d 1072, 384 N.Y.S.2d 332; People v. Causer, 43 A.D.2d 899, 351 N.Y.S.2d 236; People v. Lofton, 81 Misc.2d 572, 575, 366 N.Y.S.2d 769. Indeed, this judicial analogue has served as the basis, for exam......
  • People v. Freeland
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • June 27, 1974
    ...summation it was not of such a character as to warrant consideration under the principles enunciated by us in People v. Causer, 43 A.D.2d 899, 351 N.Y.S.2d 236, nor was it of such a nature as to deprive the defendants of a fair trial. The Trial Court did not err in denying a hearing relativ......
  • People v. Kyser
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • May 28, 1976
    ...trial and require reversal. The prosecutor is a quasi-judicial official (People v. Fielding, 158 N.Y. 542, 53 N.E. 497; People v. Causer, 43 A.D.2d 899, 351 N.Y.S.2d 236), and it constitutes reversible error for him to use inflammatory arguments not based on the record (People v. Williams, ......

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