People v. Hendrie

24 A.D.3d 871, 805 N.Y.S.2d 464
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedDecember 8, 2005
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 24 A.D.3d 871 (People v. Hendrie) 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. Hendrie, 24 A.D.3d 871, 805 N.Y.S.2d 464 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

Mugglin, J.

Appeals (1) from a judgment of the County Court of Clinton County (Ryan, J.), rendered February 5, 1998, upon a verdict convicting defendant of the crimes of murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, burglary in the first degree, kidnapping in the second degree, criminal use of a firearm in the first degree (two counts), criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, making a punishable false written instrument, criminal contempt in the second degree, menacing in the second degree and criminal mischief in the fourth degree, and (2) by permission, from an order of said court, entered August 10, 2001, which denied defendant’s motion pursuant to CPL 440.10 to vacate the judgment of conviction, without a hearing.

This case involves the shooting death of Timothy Lamberton during the evening of December 21, 1996 in the hamlet of Mooers Forks, Clinton County. On the evening in question, defendant went to the residence of his former girlfriend, Helen LaPorte, ostensibly to deliver a Christmas gift for the LaPorte children. Upon arrival, however, defendant withdrew a sawed-off shotgun from the Christmas package, forced his way into the residence and thereafter shot and killed Lamberton. When defendant left the residence, he abducted LaPorte Jbut subsequently allowed her to go free. Following a jury trial, defendant was convicted of, among other things, murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, burglary in the first degree, kidnapping in the second degree and criminal use of a firearm in the first degree (two counts). Defendant was thereafter sentenced on each conviction, the aggregate being 40 years to life. Defendant’s subsequent CPL article 440 motion to vacate the judgment based on newly discovered evidence was summarily denied by County Court. Defendant appeals.

First, we address defendant’s complaints regarding County Court’s refusal to suppress his oral and written statements and the physical evidence seized by the State Police as a result of those statements. Defendant’s contention is that, as a result of his being mildly mentally retarded, he was incapable of fully comprehending his constitutional rights to remain silent and to the assistance of counsel. In support of this contention, defendant presented the testimony of a psychologist who, based on a 1992 Social Security evaluation, concluded that defendant’s IQ test score of 55 placed him at the low end of the mild mental retardation range. This expert witness further testified, as relevant hereto, that defendant lacked the capacity to understand [873]*873the concepts embodied in the Miranda warnings given to him by the police.

Subnormal intelligence, in and of itself, does not require suppression of statements where it is established that a defendant had the ability to understand the basic concepts of the right to remain silent, the right to the assistance of counsel and the fact that any statement could be used against him or her (see People v Williams, 62 NY2d 285, 287 [1984]; People v Marx, 305 AD2d 726, 728 [2003], lv denied 100 NY2d 596 [2003]). In our view, the record lacks any indicia that defendant failed to sufficiently comprehend the warnings undisputedly given to him by the State Police. The prosecution witnesses established that defendant was composed and relaxed and responded to questions in a normal and appropriate manner, at no time exhibiting any uncertainty or confusion. Since the factual findings made by County Court were not clearly erroneous, they are entitled to great weight (see People v Comfort, 6 AD3d 871, 873 [2004]). Accordingly, we are persuaded that defendant’s statements were voluntary and that the physical evidence recovered as a result was properly ruled admissible at trial.

Next, defendant claims that his right to a fair trial was infringed upon, first, by an improper comment during the prosecutor’s summation which shifted the burden of proof to him and, second, by County Court’s refusal to charge the jury with respect to the lesser included offenses of first and second degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide under the first degree murder count. During the prosecutor’s summation, it was suggested that the jury must find that LaPorte’s testimony was credible because defendant had not suggested any reason to disbelieve her account of the incident. To warrant reversal of a conviction, the prosecutorial misconduct must be of such magnitude as to deny a defendant due process (see People v Jackson, 282 AD2d 830, 833 [2001], lv denied 96 NY2d 902 [2001]; People v Tarantola, 178 AD2d 768, 770 [1991], lv denied 79 NY2d 954 [1992]). We agree that the prosecutor’s comment was error. Nevertheless, it was a brief, isolated comment and, in view of County Court’s instructions to the jury concerning the burden of proof, we are unpersuaded that defendant’s right to a fair trial was in any way compromised (see People v Roberts, 12 AD3d 835, 837 [2004], lv denied 4 NY3d 802 [2005]; People v Levandowski, 8 AD3d 898, 900 [2004]).

Nor are we persuaded that County Court’s refusal to submit the lesser included offenses as requested by defendant under the first degree murder count infringed upon defendant’s right to a fair trial. A court is required to submit a lesser included of[874]*874fense to the jury only when there is a reasonable view of the trial evidence upon which the jury could conclude that the defendant committed the lesser offense but not the greater (see CPL 300.50 [1]; People v Barney, 99 NY2d 367, 371 [2003]). In reaching this determination, the trial evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the defendant (see People v Johnson, 45 NY2d 546, 549 [1978]). Defendant premises his request for these charges on his claim that the death of Lamberton was accidental. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to defendant would suggest that he lacked intent either to cause death or serious physical injury. As manslaughter in the first degree requires that death be caused when the intent was to cause serious physical injury (see Penal Law § 125.20 [1]), we conclude that County Court properly refused this charge. We agree with defendant that the lesser included offense of manslaughter in the second degree should have been charged under the first degree murder count. However, we note that it was charged as a lesser included offense under the depraved indifference murder count and, thus, we conclude that any error committed is harmless (see People v Doyle, 3 AD3d 126, 129 [2004], lv denied 2 NY3d 739 [2004]). Finally, we discern no error in County Court’s refusal to charge criminally negligent homicide as a lesser included offense. The evidence leaves us unconvinced that defendant could be found to have failed to recognize a substantial unjustifiable risk of death when he produced a secreted, loaded sawed-off shotgun with a light-pull trigger and pointed it directly at other people.

Next, defendant contends that the jury’s refusal to accept his defense of extreme emotional disturbance renders the verdict against the weight of the evidence. It is defendant’s burden to establish this affirmative defense by a preponderance of the competent evidence (see People v Roche, 98 NY2d 70, 75-76 [2002]; People v Gabriel, 241 AD2d 835, 836 [1997], lv denied 91 NY2d 892 [1998]). In support of this defense, defendant relied upon the testimony of the psychologist who had last evaluated him in 1992.

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Bluebook (online)
24 A.D.3d 871, 805 N.Y.S.2d 464, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-hendrie-nyappdiv-2005.