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People v. Herbert

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Apr 9, 1984
100 A.D.2d 883 (N.Y. App. Div. 1984)

Opinion

April 9, 1984


Appeal by defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Kay, J.), rendered March 23, 1981, convicting him of assault in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and criminal use of a firearm in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence. ¶ Judgment affirmed. ¶ Although the testimony of the three prosecution witnesses on the identification issue contained some minor inconsistencies, the evidence, viewed in a light most favorable to the prosecution ( People v Kennedy, 47 N.Y.2d 196; People v Benzinger, 36 N.Y.2d 29), was sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was the complainant's assailant. ¶ Defendant's contention that the trial court's charge on identification was inadequate because it did not marshal the evidence was not preserved for appellate review as no timely exception to the charge was made (see CPL 470.05, subd 2; People v Contes, 60 N.Y.2d 620, 621; People v Thomas, 50 N.Y.2d 467, 471; People v Campbell, 86 A.D.2d 403; People v Gonzalez, 97 A.D.2d 423). Nor do the circumstances of this case warrant a reversal in the interest of justice. The jury was confronted with a relatively simple set of facts. Keeping this in mind, a review of the charge indicates that it sufficed to frame the factual issues and to adequately explain the applicable principles of law, in accordance with CPL 300.10 (subd 2) (see People v Culhane, 45 N.Y.2d 757; People v Harris, 69 A.D.2d 843; People v Williamson, 51 A.D.2d 843). ¶ We also reject defendant's contention that he was denied a fair trial when the trial court, without a request from defense counsel, instructed the jury not to draw any adverse inference from defendant's failure to testify. Since no objection was interposed by the defense to this charge, it has not been preserved for appellate review as a matter of law (see CPL 470.05, subd 2). Nor would this instruction, under the circumstances of this case, warrant a reversal based upon an interest of justice analysis (see People v Vereen, 45 N.Y.2d 856). We have reviewed defendant's other contention and find it to be without merit. Mollen, P.J., Thompson, Rubin and Lawrence, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

People v. Herbert

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Apr 9, 1984
100 A.D.2d 883 (N.Y. App. Div. 1984)
Case details for

People v. Herbert

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. VERNON HERBERT…

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

Date published: Apr 9, 1984

Citations

100 A.D.2d 883 (N.Y. App. Div. 1984)

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