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People v. Perry

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Nov 23, 1992
187 A.D.2d 678 (N.Y. App. Div. 1992)

Opinion

November 23, 1992

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Queens County (Beerman, J.).


Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

The complainant and the defendant's boyfriend became involved in a fight outside the defendant's apartment. The complainant and an eyewitness testified that the defendant then came out of her apartment and swung a knife at the complainant, severing two of his fingers. When the defendant and her boyfriend were arrested shortly after the incident, the boyfriend told the police that he was the one who had cut the complainant. The boyfriend's statement was not presented to the Grand Jury. On appeal, the defendant contends that the prosecutor's failure to introduce the boyfriend's statement in evidence impaired the integrity of the Grand Jury proceedings. We disagree.

A prosecutor has wide discretion in presenting evidence to the Grand Jury, which may include the decision not to present exculpatory material (see, People v Kaba, 177 A.D.2d 506, 508). Here, the complainant and an eyewitness testified that the defendant committed the assault. This was sufficient for the People to establish a prima facie case that a crime had been committed and that the defendant had committed it. The boyfriend's statement merely raised a question of fact. Matters of credibility are collateral to the basic issue the Grand Jury must decide. Evidence with respect to collateral issues generally does not materially influence a Grand Jury investigation (see, People v Kaba, supra, at 507; People v Sepulveda, 122 A.D.2d 175). Here, since the victim and an eyewitness identified the defendant as the assailant, this was not an unfounded prosecution (see, People v Valles, 62 N.Y.2d 36).

We further note that the defendant's boyfriend testified at the trial that he was the one who cut the complainant. Therefore, the defendant was able to present her defense at the trial (see, People v Gilliam, 172 A.D.2d 1037; People v Isla, 96 A.D.2d 789).

We find no merit to the defendant's other contentions. Lawrence, J.P., Copertino, Pizzuto and Santucci, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

People v. Perry

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Nov 23, 1992
187 A.D.2d 678 (N.Y. App. Div. 1992)
Case details for

People v. Perry

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. PATRICIA PERRY…

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

Date published: Nov 23, 1992

Citations

187 A.D.2d 678 (N.Y. App. Div. 1992)
590 N.Y.S.2d 251

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