People v. Gonzalez

163 Misc. 2d 950, 625 N.Y.S.2d 844, 1995 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 135
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 10, 1995
StatusPublished

This text of 163 Misc. 2d 950 (People v. Gonzalez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Gonzalez, 163 Misc. 2d 950, 625 N.Y.S.2d 844, 1995 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 135 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1995).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Burton B. Roberts, J.

The defendant was convicted after a jury trial of 87 counts of depraved indifference murder, 87 counts of felony murder, one count of arson in the first degree and one count of assault in the first degree. On September 19, 1991, the defendant was sentenced to concurrent terms of 25 years to life on each of the 174 counts of murder, and concurrent terms of 25 years to life for the arson conviction and 5 to 15 years for the assault conviction. These convictions all resulted from the fire at the Happy Land Social Club on March 25, 1990.

On December 21, 1993, the defendant filed a CPL 440.10 motion to vacate his convictions on the ground that the People did not supply the audiotapes made by the medical examiners who performed the 87 autopsies conducted as a result of the fire.1 The defendant contended that the tapes were Rosario material and the People were required to obtain the audiotapes from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) and to provide them to the defense. For the reasons that follow, the motion is denied.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Crime and the Trial

On March 25, 1990, the defendant and his former girlfriend, Lydia Feliciano, who worked at the Happy Land Social Club as a hat checker, had an argument. Following that quarrel, the defendant purchased a dollar’s worth of gasoline, went to the social club and poured the gasoline into the club and then ignited it with a lighted match. This action started a fire that burned down the club and killed 87 people, making this crime one of the worst mass murders in the history of the United States.2

[952]*952When the case came to trial in July 1991, the defendant presented an insanity defense. He did not contest the issues of who started the fire or what caused the 87 victims’ deaths. This position was made clear right from the outset of the trial. In his opening statement, defense counsel said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, on March 25, 1990, Julio Gonzalez started the fire in the Happyland [sic] Social Club. You’ve all heard me concede that repeatedly. I’m conceding that he started the fire, I’m conceding that 87 people died as a result of that fire, no question as to who they were, no question as to how they died, no question that it was a horrible tragedy, almost beyond human imagination.

"I also concede that as a result of that fire Rubin Valladares was seriously injured, he was burned escaping from the building. But ladies and gentlemen, when Julio Gonzalez started that fire, he was legally insane. I’m using the term insane, you know the legal expression.

"That is the only issue I have addressed so far during voir dire, it’s the only issue I’m addressing now, it’s the only issue I will address with evidence during the trial, the only issue you will hear me refer to in my summation, it is the only issue I think you need seriously consider when you retire to deliberate.” (Transcript, at 36.)

True to his word, defense counsel did not question any of the witnesses called to identify the bodies of the 87 victims of the fire and he did not cross-examine any of the medical examiners who testified during the trial. He called two psychologists to present evidence concerning the insanity defense. Then, after the People called a psychologist and a psychiatrist in rebuttal, defense counsel in summation attacked the findings of the People’s medical experts and argued that the jury should find the defendant not guilty by reason of insanity. He did not make an issue of the cause of death or who had died. The jury rejected the defense of insanity and returned the verdict outlined above.

Before the medical examiners were called to testify, the parties tried to reach a stipulation that would obviate the need to hear testimony about the cause of death and the identification of all 87 victims. No stipulation was reached, however, because the defense was not willing to enter a stipulation if the People chose to present "police testimony or fire testimony” about the conditions in the social club after [953]*953the fire.3 The People did not stipulate on the defendant’s terms because they believed the evidence they presented was necessary for a full understanding of the case. Consequently, the jury heard evidence from the medical examiners (M.E.s).

Only 7 of the 9 medical examiners who performed the 87 autopsies in this case testified at the trial. The People did not call Dr. Vernard Adams or Dr. Michael Ferenc, and Dr. John Pearl testified about the findings concerning the 25 victims whose autopsies were performed by either Adams or Ferenc. The defense agreed to this procedure because Drs. Adams and Ferenc would have had to come from other States to testify and it was agreed that the People could save the time and expense of producing these two doctors.4

Each of the seven medical examiners who testified described their backgrounds, including their education, their board certifications, their titles, their duties as M.E.s and the number of autopsies they had performed and observed.5 They were all qualified as experts. Then, each M.E. described the first of the autopsies they testified about in some detail, explaining that the victim they examined died of smoke inhalation and how and why they reached that conclusion. All of the M.E.s testified that when a person is caught in a fire he or she breathes in smoke, which contains carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide bonds more readily with hemoglobin in a person’s blood then does oxygen. Hemoglobin is the molecule that carries oxygen to the tissues and cells of the human body. Therefore, when carbon monoxide bonds with hemoglobin, it prevents a person from getting the oxygen needed to survive. The M.E.s each testified that they found soot inside the airways of the victims they examined, that the victims had a cherry pink discoloration of the skin that is characteristic of carbon monoxide poisoning and that the toxicology report showed high levels of carbon monoxide in the victims’ blood.

[954]*954After the more in-depth questioning, the testimony concerning the other victims examined by an M.E. fell into a pattern. The typical questioning is shown in the following example:

"q. Doctor, did you perform an autopsy under M.E. case number 1581 on an individual identified to you as Victor Cordova and with respect to this indictment those would be counts 44 and 131?
"a. Yes.
"q. Was this autopsy report made in the regular course of your business within a reasonable time after the completion of your autopsy?
"a. Yes, it was.
"mr. Warner (the prosecutor): I would ask that that report be marked in evidence as People’s 8-17.
"the court: Any objection?
"mr. berne (defense counsel): No objection.
"the court: Received in evidence * * *
"q. Dr. Pearl, based on your autopsy do you have an opinion as to the cause of death of this individual identified to you as Victor Cordova?
"a. Yes, I do.
"q. What is your opinion?

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Bluebook (online)
163 Misc. 2d 950, 625 N.Y.S.2d 844, 1995 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 135, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-gonzalez-nysupct-1995.