People v. Walker
| Decision Date | 13 April 1987 |
| Citation | 514 N.Y.S.2d 272,129 A.D.2d 658 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. Kenneth WALKER, Appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
John F. Middlemiss, Jr., Ronkonkoma (George Grun of counsel), for appellant.
Patrick Henry, Dist. Atty., Riverhead (Emily A. Constant of counsel), for respondent.
Before BROWN, J.P., and RUBIN, KOOPER and SULLIVAN, JJ.
MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Suffolk County (Seidell, J.), rendered February 22, 1983, convicting him of murder in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
The evidence against the defendant, which consisted primarily of the testimony of a witness who was an admitted drug dealer and thief, was nevertheless legally sufficient to support the verdict (see, People v. Malizia, 62 N.Y.2d 755, 757, 476 N.Y.S.2d 825, 465 N.E.2d 364, cert. denied 469 U.S. 932, 105 S.Ct. 327, 83 L.Ed.2d 264).
Contrary to the defendant's contention, the court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to grant his motion for a severance. None of his codefendants' statements implicated the defendant, and therefore there was no violation of his right to confrontation, or his right to a fair trial (see, People v. Cruz, 66 N.Y.2d 61, 72, 495 N.Y.S.2d 14, 485 N.E.2d 221, cert. granted 476 U.S. 1168, 106 S.Ct. 2888, 90 L.Ed.2d 976).
We also reject the defendant's contention that the prosecutor's conduct deprived him of a fair trial. The prosecutor's questioning of witnesses was not inherently prejudicial inasmu as the testimony sought to be elicited could have been admitted to establish motive (see, People v. Allweiss, 48 N.Y.2d 40, 47, 421 N.Y.S.2d 341, 396 N.E.2d 735). Furthermore, the prosecutor's summation remarks were a fair response to those of defense counsel (see, People v. Marks, 6 N.Y.2d 67, 77-78, 188 N.Y.S.2d 465, 160 N.E.2d 26, cert. denied 362 U.S. 912, 80 S.Ct. 662, 4 L.Ed.2d 620).
The defendant's remaining contentions have been considered and found to be without merit (see, People v. Barnes, 50 N.Y.2d 375, 380, 429 N.Y.S.2d 178, 406 N.E.2d 1071; People v. Pobliner, 32 N.Y.2d 356, 369, 345 N.Y.S.2d 482, 298 N.E.2d 637, rearg. denied 33 N.Y.2d 657, 348 N.Y.S.2d 1030, 303 N.E.2d 710, cert. denied 416 U.S. 905, 94 S.Ct. 1609, 40 L.Ed.2d 110; People v. Botta, 100 A.D.2d 311, 314, 474 N.Y.S.2d 72; People v. Lanahan, 96 A.D.2d 675, 676, 466 N.Y.S.2d 796; People v....
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Bossett v. Walker
...536 N.Y.S.2d 478 (1988), leave to appeal denied, 73 N.Y.2d 1011, 541 N.Y.S.2d 766, 539 N.E.2d 594 (1989); People v. Walker, 129 A.D.2d 658, 514 N.Y.S.2d 272 (N.Y.App.Div.1987), aff'd, 71 N.Y.2d 1018, 530 N.Y.S.2d 103, 525 N.E.2d 748 (1988). Appellants then petitioned for writs of habeas cor......
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People v. Ellis
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