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People v. Pointer

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Aug 17, 1998
253 A.D.2d 500 (N.Y. App. Div. 1998)

Opinion

August 17, 1998

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Steinhart, J.).


Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

It is well settled that a defendant in a lineup need not be surrounded by individuals nearly identical in appearance (see, People v. Chipp, 75 N.Y.2d 327, cert denied 498 U.S. 833; People v. Gelzer, 224 A.D.2d 443; People v. Baptiste, 201 A.D.2d 659). To the contrary, the fillers in a lineup need only be reasonably similar to the defendant in appearance (see, People v. Gelzer, supra; People v. Pinckney, 220 A.D.2d 539). Skin tone is only one of the factors to be considered in deciding "reasonable similarity" (People v. Miller, 199 A.D.2d 422, 423) and differences in skin tone alone will not render a lineup unduly suggestive (see, People v. Miller, supra; People v. Chipp, supra; People v. Henderson, 170 A.D.2d 532). As the defendant failed to demonstrate that there was a substantial likelihood of misidentification, there is no basis to disturb the hearing court's determination that the lineup procedure was not tainted by suggestiveness (see, People v. Singleton, 222 A.D.2d 719; People v. Jacobi, 159 A.D.2d 308).

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution ( see, People v. Contes, 60 N.Y.2d 620), we find that it was legally sufficient to establish the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Moreover, upon the exercise of our factual review power, we are satisfied that the verdict of guilt was not against the weight of the evidence ( see, CPL 470.15).

The sentence imposed was neither harsh nor excessive ( see, People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80).

The defendant's remaining contentions, including those raised in his supplemental pro se brief, are without merit.

O'Brien, J.P., Santucci, Krausman and Goldstein, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

People v. Pointer

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Aug 17, 1998
253 A.D.2d 500 (N.Y. App. Div. 1998)
Case details for

People v. Pointer

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. KASEEM POINTER…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: Aug 17, 1998

Citations

253 A.D.2d 500 (N.Y. App. Div. 1998)
677 N.Y.S.2d 582

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