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People v. Cohen

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department
Sep 23, 1997
242 A.D.2d 473 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)

Opinion

September 23, 1997

Appeal from Supreme Court, New York County (Jerome Hornblass, J.).


Reversal is not warranted by the court's refusal to provide defendant with the complete examination reports, prepared pursuant to CPL article 730, of an accomplice who testified for the People. Defendant failed to make a sufficient showing to overcome the confidentiality (CPLR 4507) of these reports ( see, People v. Gissendanner, 48 N.Y.2d 543, 548-549; People v. Lussier, 205 A.D.2d 910, lv denied 83 N.Y.2d 1005, cert denied 513 U.S. 1078; People v. Baez, 183 A.D.2d 481, lv denied 80 N.Y.2d 901; cf., People v Mandel, 48 N.Y.2d 952, cert denied 446 U.S. 949).

Since defendant's Rosario claim has been raised by way of CPL article 440, a standard of prejudice rather than per se reversal would apply ( People v. Machado, 90 N.Y.2d 187). We conclude that there was no reasonable possibility that the nondisclosure contributed to the verdict. The undisclosed factual recitations were cumulative to a wealth of impeachment material presented to the jury concerning the accomplice's background, mental condition at the time of the crime, and prior inconsistent statements. Moreover, there was ample evidence of guilt supplied by witnesses other than the accomplice.

Defendant's contention that the court's Sandoval ruling erroneously permitted the prosecutor to question him, should he take the stand, about an unrelated pending or potential criminal charge is not borne out by the record.

We have considered defendant's other claims and find them to be without merit.

Concur — Murphy, P.J., Sullivan, Ellerin and Williams, JJ.


Summaries of

People v. Cohen

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department
Sep 23, 1997
242 A.D.2d 473 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)
Case details for

People v. Cohen

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. BERNARD COHEN…

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

Date published: Sep 23, 1997

Citations

242 A.D.2d 473 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)

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