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People v. James

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Feb 25, 1991
170 A.D.2d 694 (N.Y. App. Div. 1991)

Opinion

February 25, 1991

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (O'Brien, J.).


Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution (see, People v Contes, 60 N.Y.2d 620), we find that it was legally sufficient to establish the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Although there were minor inconsistencies between the victim's description of his assailant and the defendant's actual appearance at the time of his arrest, the resolution of issues of credibility as well as the weight to be accorded the evidence presented are primarily questions to be determined by the jury which saw and heard the witnesses (see, People v Gaimari, 176 N.Y. 84, 94). Its determination should be accorded great weight on appeal and should not be disturbed unless clearly unsupported by the record (see, People v Garafolo, 44 A.D.2d 86, 88). Upon the exercise of our factual review power, we are satisfied that the verdict of guilt was not against the weight of the evidence (CPL 470.15).

The defendant's contention that the court's charge on identification was inadequate because it failed to provide the jury with detailed instructions to assist them in evaluating the accuracy of the sole complaining witness's identification of the defendant as one of the perpetrators of the crime (see, People v Daniels, 88 A.D.2d 392) is without merit. Although desirable, a detailed charge on the issue of identification is not required as a matter of law (see, People v Whalen, 59 N.Y.2d 273, 279; People v Beasley, 114 A.D.2d 415, 416; People v Smith, 100 A.D.2d 857, 858). "A Judge who gives a general instruction on weighing witnesses' credibility and who states that identification must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt has made an accurate statement of the law" (People v Whalen, supra, at 279).

The defense counsel failed to request an alibi charge or to object to a lack thereof. Thus, this issue is unpreserved for appellate review (see, CPL 470.05; People v Lassiter, 161 A.D.2d 699; People v Howard, 153 A.D.2d 903, 905; People v Elcock, 130 A.D.2d 682; People v Asquino, 128 A.D.2d 792), and we decline to review it in the exercise of our interest of justice jurisdiction. Thompson, J.P., Lawrence, Kunzeman and Rosenblatt, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

People v. James

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Feb 25, 1991
170 A.D.2d 694 (N.Y. App. Div. 1991)
Case details for

People v. James

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. COREY JAMES, Appellant

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

Date published: Feb 25, 1991

Citations

170 A.D.2d 694 (N.Y. App. Div. 1991)
567 N.Y.S.2d 108

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