People v. Williams
| Decision Date | 13 February 1973 |
| Citation | 41 A.D.2d 611,340 N.Y.S.2d 504 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Jerry WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
K. S. Grossman, New York City, for respondent.
W. E. Hellerstein, New York City, for defendant-appellant.
Before McGIVERN, J.P., and MARKEWICH, NUNEZ, KUPFERMAN and MURPHY, JJ.
Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County, rendered January 14, 1972, unanimously reversed, on the law, and the case remanded to Trial Term, Supreme Court, Bronx County, for trial anew. Though the District Attorney claims that the record does not establish that the trial court refused to permit inquiry of prospective jurors on the voir dire as to possible prejudice against members of the defendant-appellant's race, this does appear without dispute. That ruling is in direct conflict with the recent holding of the United States Supreme Court in Ham v. South Carolina, 409 U.S. 524, 93 S.Ct. 848, 35 L.Ed.2d 46. Although there was strong evidence of defendant's guilt, the error requires reversal of the judgment and a new trial. If we did not reverse for the reason stated, we would have, in any event, modified the sentence of two consecutive fifteen-year terms as excessive.
All concur, with KUPFERMAN, J., concurring in the following memorandum:
While I concur in the opinion of this Court, cf. Mack v. Davidson, 40 A.D.2d 641, 336 N.Y.S.2d 418 (1st Dept. 1972) the apt citation with regard to excessiveness of sentence is Section 70.30(1)(c) of the Penal Law.
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Ross v. Ristaino, 74-1222
...'reversible constitutional error' to deny motion to ask jurors whether they are biased against Italians); People v. Williams, 41 A.D.2d 611, 340 N.Y.S.2d 504 (1st Dept. 1973) (narcotics convictions reversed because of 'direct conflict with . . . Ham'). But see United States v. Walker, 491 F......
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