People v. Leonti
| Citation | 262 N.Y. 256,186 N.E. 693 |
| Parties | PEOPLE v. LEONTI. |
| Decision Date | 11 July 1933 |
| Court | New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Giusseppe Leonti was convicted of murder in the first degree, and he appeals.
Reversed and new trial ordered.
Joseph S. Gershman, Samuel Stark, Joseph Pascocello, and George H. Combs, Jr., all of New York City, for appellant.
Thomas C. T. Crain, Dist. Atty., of New York City (Robert C. Taylor, of New York City, of counsel), for the People.
Defendant has been convicted of murder in the first degree for the killing of his daughter. He raised the issue of fact that the homicide was committed not by him but by his son-in-law, the husband of the slain woman. The verdict, based as it is upon conflicting testimony in which the question of defendant's credibility was a predominant element, is not contrary to the weight of evidence.
Many incidents occurring during the course of the trial form the groundwork for the argument that defendant did not have a fair trial. The chief point bearing upon this question is the alleged disqualification of a juror. On this motion for a new trial, these affidavits, in the absence of denials, stand as conclusive proof of disqualification. No opposing affidavit was submitted nor did the trial judge cause to appear before him for oral examination the juror whose status was assailed.
If the testimony of defendant, who is a Sicilian, was worthy of belief, his innocence was established. On the examination of talesmen, one who was later accepted as a juror in answer to inquiries by defendant's counsel replied that he had no prejudice against Italians of foreign birth, that he could be impartial and could accord to defendant the same deal that he could accord anybody.
On this statement he was accepted as qualified. The moving affidavits set forth that after the rendition of the verdict this juror stated: These affidavits may be untrue but their contents are not denied nor was any effort made by the trial court to discover their truth or falsity.
This is not a case of refusal to receive evidence of misconduct of a juror for the purpose of impeaching a verdict. People v. Sprague, 217 N. Y. 373, 111 N. E. 1077. As the affidavits stand undenied, they constitute convincing proof that this talesman...
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