People v. Caver

Decision Date24 February 2003
Citation758 N.Y.S.2d 335,302 A.D.2d 604
PartiesTHE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent,<BR>v.<BR>WILLIAM CAVER, Also Known as DESHAWN BORTON, Appellant.
CourtNew York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Santucci, J.P., Smith, H. Miller and Adams, JJ., concur.

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

The defendant, who was charged with murder, argues that the court should not have allowed into evidence the fact that certain witnesses knew his nickname, which was "Bloody Bad Ass." However, this evidence, which was "highly probative" with regard to the question of their ability to identify him as the perpetrator, was properly allowed (People v Louis, 192 AD2d 558, 559 [1993]; see People v Candelario, 198 AD2d 512 [1993]). To the extent that the defendant argues that he was prejudiced by the prosecutor's repeated references to his nickname (see People v Lauderdale, 295 AD2d 539 [2002]), that argument is not preserved for appellate review (see CPL 470.05 [2]; People v Diaz, 235 AD2d 236 [1997]). In any event, while we agree that this was improper, we conclude that under the circumstances, where the evidence of the defendant's guilt was overwhelming, and where the court instructed the jury not to consider the nickname as evidence of guilt, any error was harmless (see People v Crimmins, 36 NY2d 230 [1975]; People v Santiago, 255 AD2d 63 [1999]; People v Diaz, supra at 236).

The defendant's challenges to various remarks made by the prosecutor during her summation are unpreserved for appellate review (see CPL 470.05 [2]; People v Oreckinto, 253 AD2d 896 [1998]). In any event, the challenged comments were either within the bounds of permissible rhetoric (see People v Galloway, 54 NY2d 396 [1981]), constituted fair comment on the evidence presented (see People v Ashwal, 39 NY2d 105 [1976]), or were harmless under the circumstances (see People v Crimmins, supra at 242).

The sentencing court properly imposed consecutive sentences (see People v Ramirez, 89 NY2d 444 [1996]; People v Lewis, 268 AD2d 249 [2000]).

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5 cases
  • People v. Tuff
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • December 22, 2017
    ...did not object to the use of his nickname and thus failed to preserve his contention for our review (see People v. Caver, 302 A.D.2d 604, 604, 758 N.Y.S.2d 335 [2d Dept. 2003], lv denied 99 N.Y.2d 653, 760 N.Y.S.2d 117, 790 N.E.2d 291 [2003] ). In any event, we conclude that the references ......
  • People v. Tolliver
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • March 16, 2012
    ...People v. Hoffler, 41 A.D.3d 891, 892, 837 N.Y.S.2d 750, lv. denied 9 N.Y.3d 962, 963, 848 N.Y.S.2d 30, 878 N.E.2d 614; People v. Caver, 302 A.D.2d 604, 758 N.Y.S.2d 335, lv. denied 99 N.Y.2d 652, 653, 760 N.Y.S.2d 117, 790 N.E.2d 291). Indeed, the court instructed the jury that the [93 A.D......
  • People v. Edwards, Indictment No.: 17-0458-03
    • United States
    • New York County Court
    • September 21, 2017
    ...motion is denied. The use of a defendant's nickname is highly probative of defendant's identity in this matter (see People v. Caver, 302 A.D.2d 604 (2d Dept. 2003); People v. Crowder, 2 A.D.3d 454 (2d Dept. 2003)). Moreover, it cannot be said that simply because defendant has a nickname, a ......
  • People v. Collier
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • February 7, 2014
    ...and by the prosecutor five times during summation. To the extent that this issue is not preserved for our review ( see People v. Caver, 302 A.D.2d 604, 604, 758 N.Y.S.2d 335, lv. denied99 N.Y.2d 653, 760 N.Y.S.2d 117, 790 N.E.2d 291), we agree with defendant that he was deprived of effectiv......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

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