People v. Alton

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York

People v. Alton

169 A.D.2d 529, 564 N.Y.S.2d 380, 1991 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 471

CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York

DecidedJanuary 22, 1991

StatusPublished

Cited by2 cases

This text of 169 A.D.2d 529 (People v. Alton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

People v. Alton, 169 A.D.2d 529, 564 N.Y.S.2d 380, 1991 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 471 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1991).

Pincite

Opinion

Judgment of the Supreme Court, New York County (Murray Mogel, J., at suppression hearing; James Leif, J., at trial with a jury), rendered November 29, 1988, convicting defendant of two counts of robbery in the second degree and sentencing him, as a persistent felony offender, to concurrent, indeterminate terms of imprisonment of eight years to life, unanimously affirmed.

We find no merit to defendant’s claim that his right to competent counsel was violated. Defendant’s second attorney failed to challenge the lineup identification on the ground that it was inherently suggestive, but instead argued that the lineup was tainted by a photographic array made available earlier to the witness. Defendant has not demonstrated that counsel’s decision was inappropriate. (People v Rivera, 71 NY2d 705.) Since defendant’s first attorney (a colleague of the second) was present at the lineup, it is unlikely that the makeup of the lineup was prejudicial to defendant’s rights (cf., People v Lopez, 123 AD2d 360, lv denied 68 NY2d 915).

Defendant also argues that the array was suggestive because of his receding hairline. The photographs that filled out the array did not have to depict persons nearly identical in appearance. (People v Chipp, 75 NY2d 327, cert denied — US —, 111 S Ct 99.) Moreover, the lineup was conducted more than four weeks after the photographic array was displayed, rendering prejudice unlikely. (Cf., People v Thomas, 161 AD2d 543, lv denied 76 NY2d 866.) Concur—Murphy, P. J., Carro, Wallach, Kupferman and Asch, JJ.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Judgment of the Supreme Court, New York County (Murray Mogel, J., at suppression hearing; James Leif, J., at trial with a jury), rendered November 29, 1988, convicting defendant of two counts of robbery in the second degree and sentencing him, as a persistent felony offender, to concurrent, indeterminate terms of imprisonment of eight years to life, unanimously affirmed.

We find no merit to defendant’s claim that his right to competent counsel was violated. Defendant’s second attorney failed to challenge the lineup identification on the ground that it was inherently suggestive, but instead argued that the lineup was tainted by a photographic array made available earlier to the witness. Defendant has not demonstrated that counsel’s decision was inappropriate. (People v Rivera, 71 NY2d 705.) Since defendant’s first attorney (a colleague of the second) was present at the lineup, it is unlikely that the makeup of the lineup was prejudicial to defendant’s rights (cf., People v Lopez, 123 AD2d 360, lv denied 68 NY2d 915).

Defendant also argues that the array was suggestive because of his receding hairline. The photographs that filled out the array did not have to depict persons nearly identical in appearance. (People v Chipp, 75 NY2d 327, cert denied — US —, 111 S Ct 99.) Moreover, the lineup was conducted more than four weeks after the photographic array was displayed, rendering prejudice unlikely. (Cf., People v Thomas, 161 AD2d 543, lv denied 76 NY2d 866.) Concur—Murphy, P. J., Carro, Wallach, Kupferman and Asch, JJ.

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

169 A.D.2d 529, 564 N.Y.S.2d 380, 1991 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 471, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-alton-nyappdiv-1991.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack