Opinion
April 2, 1996
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Bronx County (Richard Price, J.).
After threatening to kill his wife in numerous letters sent from prison, defendant shot her to death in front of their six-year old son. The threatening letters were properly admitted into evidence since the marital privilege is not "designed to forbid inquiry into the personal wrongs committed by one spouse against the other, or * * * intended to label confidential a communication aimed at destroying the marital relation" ( Poppe v Poppe, 3 N.Y.2d 312, 315).
Defendant had no personal, legitimate expectation of privacy in a coin-operated rental locker which had been "red tagged", excluding defendant from entering with his key, after the expiration of the rental period ( United States v. Reyes, 908 F.2d 281, 285-286, cert denied 499 U.S. 908).
Defendant's arguments that expert witnesses were improperly permitted to testify regarding an eyewitness's credibility, to the extent that their opinions went to the ultimate issue of guilt or innocence, were not preserved by the general objections to the testimony ( People v. Iannelli, 69 N.Y.2d 684, cert denied 482 U.S. 914). In any event, the admission of this testimony was within the trial court's discretion in the circumstances presented herein ( People v. Cronin, 60 N.Y.2d 430, 432-433). Even if admission of that testimony were error, we perceive no significant possibility that the jury would have acquitted defendant in the absence of such testimony ( People v. Braun, 199 A.D.2d 993, lv denied 83 N.Y.2d 849; People v. Crimmins, 36 N.Y.2d 230, 242).
Defendant's motion to vacate judgment was properly denied since his allegations failed to support his claim of conflict of interest. We note that a defendant may not create an artificial conflict of interest merely by bringing a patently frivolous lawsuit against his attorney ( see, Mathis v. Hood, 937 F.2d 790, 796).
We have considered defendant's remaining contentions, including those raised in his pro se supplemental briefs, and find them to be without merit.
Concur — Milonas, J.P., Ellerin, Rubin, Ross and Mazzarelli, JJ.