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People v. Vasquez

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Aug 21, 1995
218 A.D.2d 766 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)

Opinion

August 21, 1995

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Quinones, J.).


Ordered that the judgment is reversed, on the law, and a new trial is ordered.

The defendant was denied his fundamental right to be present during all material stages of his trial when a prospective juror was questioned at a sidebar conference, in the presence of both counsel, about information that he had acquired about the case from the newspapers and/or friends (see, People v. Sloan, 79 N.Y.2d 386; People v. McMichael, 216 A.D.2d 588). Based on the record before us, we cannot conclude that the defendant's presence at the sidebar conference would have been of no benefit (see, People v. Sloan, supra, at 392-393), even though, immediately after his off-the-record interview, the juror was discharged by the court. Accordingly, the defendant's judgment of conviction is reversed and a new trial is ordered (see, People v. Antommarchi, 80 N.Y.2d 247; People v. Sloan, supra).

In view of the foregoing, we need not reach the defendant's remaining contentions. Pizzuto, J.P., Santucci, Friedmann and Krausman, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

People v. Vasquez

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Aug 21, 1995
218 A.D.2d 766 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)
Case details for

People v. Vasquez

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. DONATO VASQUEZ…

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

Date published: Aug 21, 1995

Citations

218 A.D.2d 766 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)
630 N.Y.S.2d 569

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