People v. Victor

• Decision Date: 12 June 1984
• Citation: 62 N.Y.2d 374,477 N.Y.S.2d 97,465 N.E.2d 817
• Parties: , 465 N.E.2d 817 The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Appellant, v. Leon VICTOR, Respondent.
• Court: New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

Page 97

477 N.Y.S.2d 97

62 N.Y.2d 374, 465 N.E.2d 817

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Appellant, v. Leon VICTOR, Respondent.

Court of Appeals of New York.

June 12, 1984.

Mario Merola, Dist. Atty. (Debra S. Reiser and Peter D. Coddington, New York City, of counsel), for appellant

Robert S. Dean and William E. Hellerstein, New York City, for respondent.

OPINION OF THE COURT

PER CURIAM.

This appeal concerns the appropriate treatment a trial court must give to alibi evidence in its charge to the jury. The People have the burden of disproving an alibi beyond a reasonable doubt and, therefore, a charge regarding an alibi must unequivocally convey that burden to the jury.

Defendant was charged in two separate indictments with robberies at a Bronx luncheonette on October 30, 1978, and on December 15, 1978. These indictments were consolidated and, at trial, defendant presented evidence that he was in Manhattan when both crimes occurred. The jury acquitted defendant of the first robbery but convicted him of the second. The Appellate Division, 94 A.D.2d 289, 464 N.Y.S.2d 144, reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial on the ground that the charge given impermissibly shifted the People's burden of proof relating to the alibi evidence. On this appeal, the People contend that the Trial Judge's express refusal to charge the jury as requested, that "the People have the burden of disproving the alibi defense beyond a reasonable doubt", was not error and that the charge, taken as a whole, was correct.

The instruction on the alibi evidence, stated in pertinent part:

"In all criminal cases the defendant never has the burden of proof. In all criminal cases the prosecution, at all times, has the burden of proof and the prosecution must prove a defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If the evidence as to the alibi raises a reasonable doubt in your minds as to whether or not the defendant was present at the time and place, or times and place, singular, either situation, which are alleged in the indictments as times when crimes were committed, or that he aided and abetted and participated in the commission of the December crime charged in the second indictment, the defendant is entitled to have that testimony fairly treated like any other testimony in the case, although he is not obligated to establish that it was impossible for him to have committed, aided or participated in the commission of the crimes charged in the indictments.

"If, under the evidence tending, if true, to prove that alibi it may be possible for the * * * defendant to have committed the crimes, it is still for the jury to determine whether, if that evidence is true, he availed himself of the possibilities afforded. If the proof as to alibi, when taken into consideration with all of the other evidence in the case, raises a reasonable doubt as to the defendant's guilt of any of the four crimes with which we are concerned, he is entitled to an acquital of that crime that you are considering."

An alibi is not an affirmative or exculpatory defense which the defendant has the burden of proving (see People v. Russell, 266 N.Y. 147, 152, 194 N.E. 65; People v. O'Neill, 79 A.D.2d 429, 431, 437 N.Y.S.2d 202; Penal Law, § 25.00, subd. 2). Any charge that leads a jury to believe or suggests that a defendant has such a burden, unconstitutionally relieves the People of their burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt (see People v. Whalen, 59 N.Y.2d 273, 279, 464 N.Y.S.2d 454, 451 N.E.2d 212; People v. Vaccaro, 288 N.Y. 170, 173, 42 N.E.2d 472; People v. Riordan, 117 N.Y. 71, 73, 22 N.E. 455; People v. Lediard, 80 A.D.2d 237, 241-242, 438 N.Y.S.2d 540; see, generally, Matter of Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 1072, 25 L.Ed.2d 368).

While not an affirmative defense, neither is alibi expressly included in the Penal Law as a "defense" which the People must disprove beyond a reasonable doubt (see People v. O'Neill, 79 A.D.2d 429, 431, 437 N.Y.S.2d 202, supra; Penal Law, § 25.00, subd. 1; Fisch, New York Evidence § 239). Rather, it is simply evidence that will require an acquittal, if, when all the evidence is considered, a reasonable doubt is raised as to defendant's guilt (see People v. Elmore, 277 N.Y. 397, 405-406, 14 N.E.2d 451; People v. Barbato, 254 N.Y. 170, 178-179, 172 N.E. 458). Nevertheless, in order to avoid confusion and ensure that the jury understands that the People must always meet their burden of proving...