People v. Valentin
| Decision Date | 19 January 1995 |
| Citation | 211 A.D.2d 509,621 N.Y.S.2d 67 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Jose VALENTIN, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
M.J. Smith, for respondent.
E.B. Emmons, for appellant.
Before ELLERIN, J.P., and ROSS, WILLIAMS and TOM, JJ.
Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (George Covington, J.), rendered February 19, 1992, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of two counts of assault in the second degree and one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, and sentencing him, as a second violent felony offender, to concurrent terms of 3 1/2 to 7 years on each assault count and 1 year on the weapon count, unanimously affirmed.
Defendant's contention that he was deprived of a fair trial by the court's castigation of defense counsel and curtailment of counsel's opening statement is without merit. Initially, it was not improper for the court to admonish counsel not to act like a "witness" (see, People v. Martinez, 183 A.D.2d 485, 583 N.Y.S.2d 401), since counsel's opening statement went beyond a brief outline of what it was believed would be supported by the evidence; counsel asserted that "all the facts in this case suggest that a mistake was made, that the witnesses were not accurate beyond a reasonable doubt", before any witnesses had been produced and without indicating that any witness would even testify that a mistake had been made. As the Assistant District Attorney properly argued: "[T]here has been no evidence whatsoever to support his statement to the jury that there was a mistaken identification in this case and his saying that to the jury at this juncture of the trial is wholly inappropriate" (emphasis added).
Moreover, defendant's contention that the court excessively interfered with counsel's opening statement is not supported by the record. The court did not admonish counsel until after he had repeatedly returned to comments about evidence of a mistaken identification, the objections to which had been sustained. "Thus, the exchanges between the court and defense counsel were a product of defense counsel's tactics, and it cannot be concluded that defendant was deprived of a fair trial." (People v. Cummings, 162 A.D.2d 142, 144, 556 N.Y.S.2d 867, lv. denied 76 N.Y.2d 985, 563 N.Y.S.2d 773, 565 N.E.2d 522).
We have considered defendant's remaining contentions and find them to be without merit.
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...the bounds of a proper statement. See People v. Green, 268 A.D.2d 443, 702 N.Y.S.2d 317 (2d Dep't 2000); People v. Valentin, 211 A.D.2d 509, 621 N.Y.S.2d 67 (1st Dep't 1995). An opening statement is not supposed to go beyond a brief outline of the facts counsel expect the evidence will show......
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...the content of a defense opening that went beyond a brief outline of what it believed would be supported by the evidence (see, People v Valentin, 211 A.D.2d 509, lv denied, 85 N.Y.2d 944). In any event, the defense was afforded wide latitude in describing credibility problems of potential p......
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...627 N.Y.S.2d 1006 85 N.Y.2d 944, 651 N.E.2d 931 People v. Jose Valentin Court of Appeals of New York Apr 19, 1995 Bellacosa, J. 211 A.D.2d 509, 621 N.Y.S.2d 67 App.Div. 1, Bronx Denied. ...
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...of an opening is a brief statement of the nature of the action, the issues to be tried, and the facts to be proved. People v. Valentin , 211 A.D.2d 509, 621 N.Y.S.2d 67 (1st Dept. 1995). he defense counsel was admonished by the court where counsel’s opening statement referred to witnesses’ ......
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...a defense opening that goes beyond a brief outline of what the defense believes will be supported by the evidence. People v. Valentin , 211 A.D.2d 509, 621 N.Y.S.2d 67 (1st Dept. 1995). he defense counsel was admonished by the court where counsel’s opening statement referred to witnesses’ i......
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Opening statement
...a defense opening that goes beyond a brief outline of what the defense believes will be supported by the evidence. People v. Valentin , 211 A.D.2d 509, 621 N.Y.S.2d 67 (1st Dept. 1995). The defense counsel was admonished by the court where counsel’s opening statement referred to witnesses’ ......
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...a defense opening that goes beyond a brief outline of what the defense believes will be supported by the evidence. People v. Valentin , 211 A.D.2d 509, 621 N.Y.S.2d 67 (1st Dept. 1995). he defense counsel was admonished by the court where counsel’s opening statement referred to witnesses’ i......