Summary
rejecting claim that "first-degree assault count should have been dismissed as an inclusory concurrent count following the attempted murder [in the second degree] conviction"
Summary of this case from Gonzalez v. LeeOpinion
13781, 3441/09
12-11-2014
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Corey WILLIAMS, Defendant–Appellant.
Robert DiDio & Associates, Kew Gardens (Danielle Muscatello of counsel), for appellant. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Susan Axelrod of counsel), for respondent.
Robert DiDio & Associates, Kew Gardens (Danielle Muscatello of counsel), for appellant.
Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Susan Axelrod of counsel), for respondent.
SWEENY, J.P., RENWICK, DeGRASSE, CLARK, KAPNICK, JJ.
Opinion Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Bonnie G. Wittner, J.), rendered June 9, 2010, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and sentencing him to an aggregate term of 18 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] ). There was ample evidence to support defendant's accessorial liability (see Penal Law § 20.00 ). Among other things, defendant handed a pistol to his accomplice, after having apparently racked the weapon's slide in preparation for firing. There is no reasonable explanation for defendant's conduct, viewed in totality, other than that he shared his companion's homicidal intent (see e.g. People v. Allah, 71 N.Y.2d 830, 527 N.Y.S.2d 731, 522 N.E.2d 1029 [1988] ).
The court properly denied defendant's request for a justification charge, since there was no reasonable view of the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to defendant, to support that charge (see People v. Watts, 57 N.Y.2d 299, 301–302, 456 N.Y.S.2d 677, 442 N.E.2d 1188 [1982] ). There was no reasonable view to support either the objective or subjective aspects (see People v. Goetz, 68 N.Y.2d 96, 506 N.Y.S.2d 18, 497 N.E.2d 41 [1986] ) of the justification defense (see People v. Singleton, 39 A.D.3d 375, 833 N.Y.S.2d 503 [1st Dept.2007], lv. denied 9 N.Y.3d 851, 840 N.Y.S.2d 777, 872 N.E.2d 890 [2007] ).
The court properly exercised its discretion in imposing reasonable limits on defendant's cross-examination of prosecution witnesses. Since defendant never asserted a constitutional right to pursue any precluded inquiries, his constitutional claim is unpreserved (see People v. Lane, 7 N.Y.3d 888, 889, 826 N.Y.S.2d 599, 860 N.E.2d 61 [2006] ), and we decline to review it in the interest of justice. As an alternative holding, we reject it on the merits (see Delaware v. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673, 678–679, 106 S.Ct. 1431, 89 L.Ed.2d 674 [1986] ). The restrictions imposed by the court generally went to matters of form rather than substance, and defendant received sufficient latitude in which to impeach witnesses.
Defendant's argument that the first-degree assault count should have been dismissed as an inclusory concurrent count following the attempted murder conviction is without merit (see People v. Green, 56 N.Y.2d 427, 452 N.Y.S.2d 389, 437 N.E.2d 1146 [1982] ).
We perceive no basis for reducing the sentence.