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People v. Brown

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Fourth Department
Mar 1, 1985
109 A.D.2d 1091 (N.Y. App. Div. 1985)

Opinion

March 1, 1985

Appeal from the Erie County Court, Wolfgang, J.

Present — Hancock, Jr., J.P., Callahan, Doerr, Denman and Schnepp, JJ.


Judgment unanimously affirmed. Memorandum: Defendant contends that the judgment convicting him of felony murder, robbery and burglary must be set aside because the court erred in failing to instruct the jury that the guilty plea entered by his codefendant could not be considered as evidence of defendant's guilt. That contention is without merit. Because defendant neither requested that charge nor took exception to the court's failure to so charge, the question has not been preserved for our review ( see, People v. Karabinas, 63 N.Y.2d 871; People v. Johnson, 61 N.Y.2d 656; People v Creech, 60 N.Y.2d 895). Nor does a review of the issue in the exercise of our discretion require a reversal in the interest of justice (CPL 470.15 [c]). Of the many cases relied upon by defendant, none provides authority for the proposition that a trial court is required to instruct a jury sua sponte that a codefendant's guilty plea may not be considered as probative on the issue of defendant's guilt. There is no claim that defendant was deprived of a fair trial and, in view of the overwhelming evidence of his guilt, there is no reasonable possibility that defendant would have been acquitted had it not been for the failure to give such jury instruction ( see, People v. Crimmins, 36 N.Y.2d 230). We have considered defendant's other arguments and find them to be without merit.


Summaries of

People v. Brown

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Fourth Department
Mar 1, 1985
109 A.D.2d 1091 (N.Y. App. Div. 1985)
Case details for

People v. Brown

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. JAMES PINKY BROWN…

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

Date published: Mar 1, 1985

Citations

109 A.D.2d 1091 (N.Y. App. Div. 1985)

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