People v. Littebrant

55 A.D.3d 1151, 867 N.Y.S.2d 550
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedOctober 30, 2008
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 55 A.D.3d 1151 (People v. Littebrant) 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. Littebrant, 55 A.D.3d 1151, 867 N.Y.S.2d 550 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

Peters, J.

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Chenango County (Sullivan, J.), rendered August 1, 2005, upon a verdict convicting defendant of the crimes of rape in the first degree (three counts), criminal sexual act in the first degree, rape in the third degree (two counts), criminal sexual act in the third degree, and endangering the welfare of a child (two counts).

Defendant was charged in a multicount indictment with various crimes arising from his August 2004 sexual contact with the then 15-year-old victim. The evidence revealed that the victim accompanied defendant’s daughter on an extended visit to defendant’s residence, which consisted of a room within the home of Robert Womack and Betty Womack in the City of Norwich, Chenango County. One evening, defendant procured alcohol for his daughter and the victim. When the victim became intoxicated and began yelling, defendant slapped her in her face, causing her to fall onto one of the beds in defendant’s room. He told his daughter that he should kill the victim by slit-, ting her throat and hide her body, and then tell her parents that she had run away. Upon overhearing this statement, the victim begged defendant not to kill her. Shortly thereafter, the three began watching a movie on one of the beds. At some point, the victim began vomiting and urinating as a result of her intoxication, and defendant told his .daughter to go over to the other bed. According to the victim, defendant then got on top of her, held her down, and vaginally penetrated her with his penis. After that, defendant turned her over, held her by her abdomen and, despite her efforts to “squirm away,” anally penetrated her. During this attack, which defendant’s daughter witnessed, the victim cried, repeatedly asked defendant to stop and told him he was hurting her. Thereafter, defendant left the home and, according to the victim, when he returned, he again had nonconsensual sexual intercourse with her. The following day, when the victim and defendant’s daughter returned to the home of the victim’s parents, the victim disclosed the rapes to her mother.

Defendant, who proceeded pro se at trial with standby counsel,1 testified on his own behalf. While admitting that he had sexual intercourse with the victim, defendant asserted that the conduct was consensual, denied that it occurred on two occasions and denied anal penetration of the victim. Defendant was ultimately convicted of rape in the first degree (three counts), [1153]*1153criminal sexual act in the first degree, rape in the third degree (two counts), criminal sexual act in the third degree, and endangering the welfare of a child (two counts). Sentenced to an aggregate prison term of 23 years with five years of postrelease supervision, defendant now appeals.

Defendant initially contends that the indictment should have been dismissed because he was required to testify before the grand jury while wearing an orange jump suit and shackles. Procedurally, defendant’s motion to dismiss the indictment on the ground that he was denied a fair opportunity to testify before the grand jury (see CPL 190.50 [5]), while timely filed within five days of his arraignment (see CPL 190.50 [5] [c]), was not on notice to the People and, as such, was properly dismissed (see CPL 210.20, 210.45 [1]). Although defendant subsequently filed another motion to dismiss the indictment on these same grounds, which was made on notice to the People, his failure to do so within the statutory time requirements constituted a waiver of his argument (see CPL 190.50 [5] [c]; People v Thomas, 24 AD3d 949, 949 [2005], lv denied 6 NY3d 819 [2006]; People v Fells, 279 AD2d 706, 709 [2001], lv denied 96 NY2d 758 [2001]).

Defendant next asserts that his waiver of immunity was invalid because he was “constructively without effective counsel” when he did so and, therefore, the waiver was taken in violation of his right to counsel (see People v Chapman, 69 NY2d 497 [1987]). Raised for the first time on appeal, this issue has not been preserved for our review (see People v Kuykendall, 43 AD3d 493, 494-495 [2007], lv denied 9 NY3d 1007 [2007]) and is, in any event, without merit. Defendant’s additional challenges to the adequacy of this counsel are meritless, except we agree that his counsel should have renewed his request at the grand jury proceeding that defendant’s handcuffs and prison clothing be removed and should have properly moved to dismiss the indictment. Nonetheless, viewing the evidence, the law and the circumstances of the case in totality and at the time of the representation, we find that defendant was provided with meaningful representation (see People v Baldi, 54 NY2d 137, 147 [1981]; People v Ryan, 46 AD3d 1125, 1126 [2007], lv denied 10 NY3d 939 [2008]).

Similarly unavailing is defendant’s argument that County Court erred in dismissing a juror on the ground that he was grossly disqualified to serve. In determining whether a juror is grossly disqualified, the trial court must conduct a “probing, tactful inquiry” into the specific circumstances (People v Bradford, 300 AD2d 685, 688 [2002], lv denied 99 NY2d 612 [2003]; see People v Anderson, 70 NY2d 729, 730 [1987]). So long as this [1154]*1154has occurred, the court’s determination will be accorded latitude and great deference, and should be set aside “only where the error is manifest” (People v Smyers, 167 AD2d 773, 773 [1990], lv denied 77 NY2d 967 [1991]; see People v Leader, 285 AD2d 823, 824 [2001], lv denied 97 NY2d 756 [2002]; People v Butts, 140 AD2d 739, 740 [1988]).

Here, the juror informed County Court that he had both a professional and personal long-term relationship with key defense witnesses, the Womacks. Further inquiry by the court revealed that the juror had worked with the Womacks throughout a 15-year period and considered them to be good friends. As this relationship was far more than a “nodding acquaintance” (People v Provenzano, 50 NY2d 420, 425 [1980]; see People v Clark, 125 AD2d 868, 870 [1986], lv denied 69 NY2d 878 [1987]), we cannot conclude that County Court abused its discretion in discharging the juror as grossly unqualified (see People v Rentz, 67 NY2d 829, 830-831 [1986]; People v Branch, 46 NY2d 645, 650-651 [1979]; compare People v Klavoon, 207 AD2d 979, 979-980 [1994], lv denied 84 NY2d 908 [1994]).2

Defendant also contends that many of his convictions were not supported by legally sufficient evidence and were against the weight of the evidence. Having failed to preserve his challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions by making a particularized motion to dismiss directed at the specific deficiencies in the proof (see People v Balram, 47 AD3d 1014, 1015 [2008], lv denied 10 NY3d 859 [2008]; People v Golden, 37 AD3d 972, 973 [2007], lv denied 9 NY3d 844 [2007]), we address only his weight of the evidence challenge. Since a different conclusion by the jury would not have been unreasonable, we “must, like the trier of fact below, weigh the relative probative force of conflicting testimony and the relative strength of conflicting inferences that may be drawn from the testimony” (People v Romero, 7 NY3d 633, 643 [2006] [internal quotation marks and citation omitted]; see People v Danielson, 9 NY3d 342, 348 [2007]).

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Bluebook (online)
55 A.D.3d 1151, 867 N.Y.S.2d 550, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-littebrant-nyappdiv-2008.