Opinion
10642 Ind. 2024/16
12-26-2019
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Jason BURGESS, Defendant–Appellant.
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Brittany N. Francis of counsel), for appellant. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Michael J. Yetter of counsel), for respondent.
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Brittany N. Francis of counsel), for appellant.
Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Michael J. Yetter of counsel), for respondent.
Renwick, J.P., Manzanet–Daniels, Oing, Singh, Gonza´lez, JJ.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Charles H. Solomon, J. at hearing; Ruth Pickholz, J. at nonjury trial and sentencing), rendered May 1, 2017, convicting defendant of 12 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the first degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to an aggregate term of three to six years, unanimously reversed, on the law, and the matter remanded for a new suppression hearing and trial.
Both the hearing and trial courts erred in denying defendant's request to cross-examine a police officer regarding allegations of misconduct in a civil lawsuit in which it was claimed, among other things, that this particular officer arrested the plaintiff without suspicion of criminality and lodged false charges against him (see People v. Smith , 27 N.Y.3d 652, 36 N.Y.S.3d 861, 57 N.E.3d 53 [2016] ). The civil complaint contained specific allegations of falsification by this officer that bore on his credibility at both the hearing and trial. At each proceeding, this officer was the only witness for the People. We find that the error was not harmless (see People v. Robinson , 154 A.D.3d 490, 63 N.Y.S.3d 310 [1st Dept. 2017], lv denied 30 N.Y.3d 1108, 77 N.Y.S.3d 7, 101 N.E.3d 393 [2018] ), and the People's arguments to the contrary are unavailing.
The verdict was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of the evidence. We find it unnecessary to reach any other issues.