Opinion
2012-01-5
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Joseph MONTIMAIRE, Defendant–Appellant.
Steven Banks, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Lorca Morello of counsel), for appellant. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Yuval Simchi–Levi of counsel), for respondent.
Background: Defendant was convicted in the Supreme Court, New York County, Arlene D. Goldberg, J., of assault in the second degree. Defendant appealed.
Holding: The Supreme Court, Appellate Division, held that emergency room doctor's testimony established victim suffered serious physical injury, as required to support defendant's assault conviction.
Affirmed.
Steven Banks, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Lorca Morello of counsel), for appellant. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Yuval Simchi–Levi of counsel), for respondent.
ANDRIAS, J.P., FRIEDMAN, DeGRASSE, FREEDMAN, MANZANET–DANIELS, JJ.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Arlene D. Goldberg, J.), rendered July 10, 2009, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of assault in the second degree, and sentencing him to a term of 5 years, unanimously affirmed.
The verdict was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of the evidence ( see People v. Danielson, 9 N.Y.3d 342, 348–349, 849 N.Y.S.2d 480, 880 N.E.2d 1 [2007] ). An emergency room doctor's testimony established the element of serious physical injury.
Defendant inflicted a stab wound that caused profuse bleeding. This caused the victim's blood pressure to fall to a dangerous level, so that he urgently required a massive blood transfusion and saline irrigation to stabilize his blood pressure and heart rate. The doctor testified that she acted extraordinarily quickly because she was concerned that the victim might lose so much blood as to endanger his life. The evidence warranted the conclusion that the injury created a substantial risk of death ( see e.g. People v. Jones, 38 A.D.3d 352, 832 N.Y.S.2d 180, lv. denied 9 N.Y.3d 846, 840 N.Y.S.2d 772, 872 N.E.2d 885 [2007]; People v. Almonte, 7 A.D.3d 324, 776 N.Y.S.2d 554, lv. denied 3 N.Y.3d 670, 784 N.Y.S.2d 8, 817 N.E.2d 826 [2004]; People v. Gordon, 257 A.D.2d 533, 685 N.Y.S.2d 28 [1999], lv. denied 93 N.Y.2d 899, 689 N.Y.S.2d 711, 711 N.E.2d 987 [1999] ), even though the doctor never used that particular language.