People v. Yonamine
| Decision Date | 19 April 1993 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. Masao YONAMINE, Appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Philip L. Weinstein, New York City (Elysabeth Kleinhans and Jeffrey I. Richman, of counsel), for appellant, and appellant pro se.
Richard A. Brown, Dist. Atty., Kew Gardens (Gary Fidel and Emil Bricker, of counsel), for respondent.
Before MANGANO, P.J., and BRACKEN, SULLIVAN and LAWRENCE, JJ.
MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.
Appeal by the defendant from (1) a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Clabby, J.), rendered July 12, 1988, convicting him of murder in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence and (2) by permission, an order of the same court dated December 4, 1990, which denied, without a hearing, his motion pursuant to CPL 440.10 to vacate the judgment of conviction.
ORDERED that the judgment and order are affirmed.
The trial court has great latitude in limiting the scope and duration of counsel's opening statements (cf., People v. Brown, 136 A.D.2d 1, 16, 525 N.Y.S.2d 618, cert. denied, 488 U.S. 897, 109 S.Ct. 240, 102 L.Ed.2d 229) and, in this case, the trial court did not improvidently exercise its discretion.
Contrary to the defendant's contention, the trial court followed the procedure set forth by the Court of Appeals in People v. Ventimiglia, 52 N.Y.2d 350, 362, 438 N.Y.S.2d 261, 420 N.E.2d 59, in determining the admissibility of prior uncharged crimes.
The defendant's right to be present during the impaneling of the jury was not violated by his absence from a conference in chambers during which counsel advised the court of their peremptory challenges and challenges for cause (see, People v. Velasco, 77 N.Y.2d 469, 568 N.Y.S.2d 721, 570 N.E.2d 1070). The record reveals that, as in Velasco, the voir dire and the removal of the jurors from the panel were conducted in open court. Moreover, the defendant does not contend that he was absent during these proceedings.
Finally, trial counsel proceeded as effectively as possible in view of the overwhelming evidence of the defendant's guilt. He made appropriate pretrial motions and obtained pretrial hearings. At trial, he vigorously cross-examined the People's witnesses, raised appropriate objections, made appropriate motions, delivered opening and closing statements which were consistent with his extreme emotional disturbance defense, and presented an expert witness on the defendant's behalf....
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