People v. Whitfield

Citation581 N.Y.S.2d 77,181 A.D.2d 752
PartiesThe PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. John WHITFIELD, Appellant.
Decision Date09 March 1992
CourtNew York Supreme Court Appellate Division

Philip L. Weinstein, New York City (Stephanie T. Knowles and Stephen Scarborough, of counsel), for appellant.

Charles J. Hynes, Dist. Atty., Brooklyn (Jay M. Cohen, Eve Cary, Michael Sheinberg and Danny Jemison, of counsel), for respondent.

Before HARWOOD, J.P., and BALLETTA, O'BRIEN and RITTER, JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Egitto, J.), rendered December 1, 1989, convicting him of murder in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (two counts) and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree (two counts), upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.

The defendant contends that the testimony of the People's main witness lacked credibility since, inter alia, he lied on the stand about his criminal background, and the defendant's four witnesses all testified as to his bad reputation in the community for truthfulness. He argues that since the People's case primarily relied on this witness's testimony, they failed to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. We disagree.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution (see, People v. Contes, 60 N.Y.2d 620, 621, 467 N.Y.S.2d 349, 454 N.E.2d 932), we find that it was legally sufficient to establish the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Resolution of issues of credibility, as well as the weight to be afforded to the evidence presented, are primarily to be determined by the jury, which saw and heard the witnesses (see, People v. Gaimari, 176 N.Y. 84, 94, 68 N.E. 112). Its determination should be accorded great weight on appeal and should not be disturbed unless clearly unsupported by the record (see, People v. Garafolo, 44 A.D.2d 86, 88, 353 N.Y.S.2d 500). Upon the exercise of our factual review power, we are satisfied that the verdict was not against the weight of the evidence (see, CPL 470.15[5].

We find that since the defendant failed to object to the court's alleged excessive interference at trial or to move for a mistrial on this ground, this issue is unpreserved for appellate review (see, People v. Charleston, 56 N.Y.2d 886, 453 N.Y.S.2d 399, 438 N.E.2d 1114; People v. Graziano, 151 A.D.2d 775, 543 N.Y.S.2d 107). In any event, examination of the...

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5 cases
  • People v. Fields
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court Appellate Division
    • 21 Noviembre 2018
    ...People v. Jimenez, 148 A.D.3d 1054, 1054, 50 N.Y.S.3d 435 ; People v. Gough, 142 A.D.3d 673, 675, 37 N.Y.S.3d 280 ; People v. Whitfield, 181 A.D.2d 752, 752, 581 N.Y.S.2d 77 ), and we decline to consider them in the interest of justice. MASTRO, J.P., SGROI, DUFFY and LASALLE, JJ.,...
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    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court Appellate Division
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  • People v. Whitfield
    • United States
    • New York Court of Appeals
    • 28 Abril 1992
  • People v. Whitfield
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court Appellate Division
    • 28 Julio 1997
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