People v. Thorpe

• Decision Date: 24 February 1997
• Parties: The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. Brenton THORPE, Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Page 659

654 N.Y.S.2d 659

236 A.D.2d 641

The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. Brenton THORPE, Appellant.

Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, Second Department.

Feb. 24, 1997.

Daniel L. Greenberg, New York City (Bonnie B. Goldburg, of counsel), for appellant.

Charles J. Hynes, District Attorney, Brooklyn (Roseann B. MacKechnie, Ruth E. Ross, and Karol B. Mangum, of counsel), for respondent.

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Quinones, J.), rendered August 8, 1994, convicting him of manslaughter in the first degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.

We disagree with the defendant's contention that the trial court improperly impeded his ability to present his justification defense by curtailing his cross-examination of a prosecution witness. Although a criminal defendant is guaranteed the right to confront all adverse witnesses through cross-examination (see, Delaware v. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673, 106 S.Ct. 1431, 89 L.Ed.2d 674; Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 94 S.Ct. 1105, 39 L.Ed.2d 347), that right is not unlimited (see, People v. Stanard, 42 N.Y.2d 74, 83, 396 N.Y.S.2d 825, 365 N.E.2d 857, cert. denied 434 U.S. 986, 98 S.Ct. 615, 54 L.Ed.2d 481; People v. Martinez, 177 A.D.2d 600, 575 N.Y.S.2d 938). A trial court has broad discretion to limit cross-examination when questions are of no relevance to the case or concern issues collateral to the main issue in the case and pose a danger of misleading the jury (see, People v. McGriff, 201 A.D.2d 672, 673, 607 N.Y.S.2d 980). Here, the trial court properly exercised its broad discretion in limiting the defendant's intended inquiry into an irrelevant issue that had no bearing on any material fact or question before the jury (see, People v. Weinberg, 213 A.D.2d 506, 624 N.Y.S.2d 887; People v. McGriff, supra, at 673, 607 N.Y.S.2d 980; People v. Ashner, 190 A.D.2d 238, 246, 597 N.Y.S.2d 975; cf., People v. Levy, 186 A.D.2d 66, 67, 589 N.Y.S.2d 1).

ROSENBLATT, J.P., and PIZZUTO, ALTMAN and LUCIANO, JJ., concur.