People v. Forbes
| Citation | 449 N.Y.S.2d 9,87 A.D.2d 829 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. Ethan FORBES, Appellant. |
| Decision Date | 05 April 1982 |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Marvin S. Kramer, New York City, for appellant.
Elizabeth Holtzman, Dist. Atty., Brooklyn (Jane S. Meyers, Brooklyn, of counsel; Susan P. Bodner, New York City, on the brief), for respondent.
Before TITONE, J.P., and MANGANO, BRACKEN and BOYERS, JJ.
MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.
Appeal by defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County, rendered May 23, 1980, convicting him of attempted assault in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Judgment reversed, on the law, and new trial ordered. The facts have been considered and are determined to have been established.
The defendant sought to call his sister as a witness on his behalf. Criminal Term denied this request on the ground that her testimony would be collateral.
This ruling was erroneous. The right to present evidence by witnesses of one's own choosing is a fundamental ingredient of due process (Jenkins v. McKeithen, 395 U.S. 411, 429, 89 S.Ct. 1843, 1853, 23 L.Ed.2d 404), and the testimony of a defendant's witness should not be prospectively excluded unless it is offered in palpably bad faith . As it cannot be said on this record that defendant was acting in bad faith, a new trial is required.
We have considered defendant's other contentions and find them to be lacking in merit.
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