Summary
ruling Jamison's arraignment delay claim to be moot because his videotaped confession was never introduced into evidence at trial
Summary of this case from Jamison v. R.A. GirdichOpinion
286
February 19, 2002.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Antonio Brandveen, J.), rendered July 21, 1998, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of assault in the first degree, criminal use of a firearm in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degrees, and sentencing him, as a persistent violent felony offender, to an aggregate terms of 55 years to life, unanimously affirmed.
DAVID M. COHN, for respondent.
STEVEN N. FEINMAN, for defendant-appellant.
Before: Andrias, J.P., Saxe, Sullivan, Rosenberger, Friedman, JJ.
Defendant's motion to suppress identification testimony was properly denied. Since our review of the photo array establishes that defendant's facial scar is barely visible, we reject defendant's claim that his scar rendered the array unduly suggestive (see, People v. Blas, 283 A.D.2d 243, 96 N.Y.2d 898). Similarly, our review of the lineup photograph establishes that the lineup did not single defendant out for identification. Defendant's scar was not obvious and therefore played no part in the identification (id.). Furthermore, the fillers were sufficiently similar in appearance to defendant (see, People v. Chipp, 75 N.Y.2d 327, 336, cert denied 498 U.S. 833).
Defendant's challenge to the admissibility of his videotaped statement is moot because the statement was never introduced into evidence at trial (People v. Falcon, 281 A.D.2d 368, lv denied 96 N.Y.2d 901).
After a thorough inquiry, the court properly determined that the verdict should not be set aside on the ground of premature jury deliberations (see, People v. Horney, 112 A.D.2d 841, 842-843). There is no basis upon which to disturb the court's determinations concerning credibility with respect to its individual inquiries of the 16 jurors.
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.