From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

People v. Gonzalez

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department
Nov 12, 1985
114 A.D.2d 763 (N.Y. App. Div. 1985)

Opinion

November 12, 1985

Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Morris Goldman, J.).


We affirm because the guilt of the defendant was convincingly established by the evidence. We are constrained, however, to comment on the impassioned peroration with which the Assistant District Attorney concluded his summation. The charges involved a robbery in which a policeman was killed and a young girl was shot and blinded in one eye. The factual evidence was a sufficient testament to the horror of the crimes. Nonetheless, in summation the prosecutor made an extended, graphic and emotional exhortation. "It is the duty of the prosecutor to refrain from overzealous advocacy [citation omitted] even in cases of clearest guilt" (People v Canty, 31 A.D.2d 976, 977). In a closer case, this summation could well have tipped the scales; requiring a reversal. However, here the defendant's guilt was clearly established, and we find that the prosecutor's error did not impinge upon the rights of the defendant.

Concur — Carro, Lynch and Milonas, JJ.; Murphy, P.J., concurs in the result only.


Summaries of

People v. Gonzalez

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department
Nov 12, 1985
114 A.D.2d 763 (N.Y. App. Div. 1985)
Case details for

People v. Gonzalez

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. VICTOR M. GONZALEZ…

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

Date published: Nov 12, 1985

Citations

114 A.D.2d 763 (N.Y. App. Div. 1985)