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People v. Behling

Court of Appeals of the State of New York
Jan 7, 1970
256 N.E.2d 193 (N.Y. 1970)

Summary

In Behling, the prosecutor had argued in summation that the co-defendant had made statements implicating the defendant in the crime, but had failed to advise the jury that the co-defendant had recanted those statements some time after making them.

Summary of this case from People v. Encarnacion

Opinion

Argued December 9, 1969

Decided January 7, 1970

Appeal from the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the Second Judicial Department, JOHN R. STARKEY, J.

Stephen F. Harmon for appellant.

Eugene Gold, District Attorney ( William I. Siegel of counsel), for respondent.


A hearing solely to determine defendant's or his lawyer's knowledge of the codefendant's recantation would not yield a decisive result. Regardless of whether defendant or his trial lawyer knew of the former codefendant's recantation of statements involving defendant in the instant crime, it was not permissible for the prosecutor to advise the jury in summation that the codefendant had so implicated defendant without also advising them of the recantation. Nor is the impropriety made the less because the prosecutor may have believed the codefendant's recantation to be false and a maneuver either to avoid giving testimony or to avoid being thought disloyal to the defendant (see People v. Ahmed, 20 N.Y.2d 958, 960). Consequently, a new trial is required.

Chief Judge FULD and Judges BURKE, SCILEPPI, BERGAN, BREITEL, JASEN and GIBSON concur.

Judgment reversed and a new trial ordered.


Summaries of

People v. Behling

Court of Appeals of the State of New York
Jan 7, 1970
256 N.E.2d 193 (N.Y. 1970)

In Behling, the prosecutor had argued in summation that the co-defendant had made statements implicating the defendant in the crime, but had failed to advise the jury that the co-defendant had recanted those statements some time after making them.

Summary of this case from People v. Encarnacion
Case details for

People v. Behling

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. LARRY BEHLING…

Court:Court of Appeals of the State of New York

Date published: Jan 7, 1970

Citations

256 N.E.2d 193 (N.Y. 1970)
256 N.E.2d 193
307 N.Y.S.2d 886

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