Opinion
May 29, 1990
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Queens County (Calabretta, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
Although we find merit to the defendant's contention that the prosecutor should not have been permitted to question him with respect to his postarrest silence (see, People v. Conyers, 52 N.Y.2d 454), we nevertheless conclude that the error was harmless given the overwhelming proof of the defendant's guilt (see, People v. Crimmins, 36 N.Y.2d 230).
The prosecution was, however, properly permitted to cross-examine the defendant's alibi witness concerning her failure to relay alibi information to law enforcement officials since a sufficient foundation for this line of questioning had been laid at the pretrial Dawson hearing (see, People v Dawson, 50 N.Y.2d 311, 321). The mere fact that the alibi witness testified that she believed that defense counsel would contact her, if necessary, did not serve to preclude the prosecutor from eliciting information at trial regarding her initial failure to contact law enforcement officials (see, People v. Nurse, 142 A.D.2d 738, 739).
Additionally, there is no merit to the defendant's challenge to the sufficiency of the trial court's alibi instructions since the charge, in its entirety, adequately apprised the jury of the applicable legal principles (see, People v. Martinez, 128 A.D.2d 551).
We have examined the defendant's remaining contentions and find them to be without merit. Brown, J.P., Rubin, Eiber and Rosenblatt, JJ., concur.