People v. Carsey

2017 NY Slip Op 80, 146 A.D.3d 449, 43 N.Y.S.3d 892

• Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
• Decided: January 5, 2017
• Docket: 2649 2998/10
• Status: Published

Opinion

Judgment, New York County (Juan M. Merchan, J.), rendered May 17, 2012, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of peijury in the first degree and offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, and sentencing him to a conditional discharge for a period of three years, unanimously affirmed.

The verdict was not against the weight of the evidence (see People v Danielson, 9 NY3d 342, 348-349 [2007]). There is no basis for disturbing the jury’s credibility determinations. The falsity of defendant’s statements was amply corroborated, notwithstanding any minor inconsistencies in the testimony of the People’s witnesses.

The court providently exercised its discretion in imposing reasonable limits on cross-examination (see People v Corby, 6 NY3d 231, 234-235 [2005]) that did not violate defendant’s constitutional rights (see Crane v Kentucky, 476 US 683, 689-690 [1986]; Delaware v Van Arsdall, 475 US 673, 678-679 [1986]). In one of the instances at issue, the court providently precluded elicitation of a purported inconsistency that lacked any probative value and was potentially confusing to the jury. In the other instance, the court providently excluded hearsay testimony because, although not offered for its truth, its relevance essentially depended on its being true.

Concur— Acosta, J.P., Mazzarelli, Andrias, Feinman and Webber, JJ.