People v. Phan

150 Misc. 2d 435, 568 N.Y.S.2d 498, 1990 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 718
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 1, 1990
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 150 Misc. 2d 435 (People v. Phan) 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. Phan, 150 Misc. 2d 435, 568 N.Y.S.2d 498, 1990 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 718 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1990).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Harold Fertig, J.

In People v Gonzalez (54 NY2d 729), the Court of Appeals explicitly held that Grand Jury testimony of a witness who [436]*436was unavailable at the time of the trial was "excludable as hearsay evidence” (People v Gonzalez, supra, at 730) and not admissible under the statutory exceptions to the hearsay rule as codified in CPL 670.10. However, the court left open the question of whether, despite the hearsay character of such evidence, a defendant has a constitutional due process right to introduce such testimony (People v Gonzalez, supra, at 730; Chambers v Mississippi, 410 US 284). In the case presented here, defendant Tinh Phan squarely places the issue of his constitutional due process right to present a defense, through the introduction of Grand Jury testimony of an unavailable witness, with this court.

Defendant Phan (hereinafter defendant), charged with the murder of Thomas Stahl outside of a billiards establishment in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, asks this court to permit him to introduce the Grand Jury testimony of Vu Vinh and Phi Trung Tran, who he contends are alibi witnesses, on his direct case. Defendant contends that Vu Vinh and Phi Trung Tran are no longer available to testify in his behalf, and the People have conceded that Vu Vinh is deceased. Defendant asserts that despite the Court of Appeals decision that Grand Jury testimony of a witness constitutes inadmissible hearsay and cannot be admitted under one of the statutory exceptions set forth in CPL 670.10, his constitutional due process right to present a defense requires that this court permit him to introduce such testimony.

I. ADMISSIBILITY OF GRAND JURY TESTIMONY ON DEFENDANT’S DIRECT CASE

CPL 670.10 provides certain limited exceptions to the rule prohibiting the introduction of prior testimony, otherwise classifiable as hearsay, by either the prosecution or the defense at a criminal trial. The statute permits the introduction of "testimony given by a witness at (a) a trial of an accusatory instrument, or (b) a hearing upon a felony complaint conducted pursuant to [CPL] 180.60, or (c) an examination of such witness conditionally, conducted pursuant to [CPL] article (660)” (CPL 670.10 [1]), if that witness cannot attend a subsequent criminal proceeding because of death, illness or incapacity or if he or she cannot be found with due diligence. Both the Court of Appeals and the Appellate Division have strictly and narrowly construed this statute and have limited its ambit to the three types of testimony enumerated in the [437]*437statute. Thus, in People v Ayala (75 NY2d 422), the Court of Appeals recently held that a redacted transcript of the testimony of an unavailable witness at a Wade hearing was improperly admitted on the People’s direct case. The court reasoned that the statutory exceptions were limited to the issues explored at suppression hearings, relate to the propriety of certain conduct by law enforcement authorities and do not necessarily include the question of guilt or innocence of the accused. In fact, the court stated that testimony suggestive of the accused’s guilt or otherwise harmful to his position may be elicited at a suppression hearing, where no jury is present, which would not be elicited at trial. (People v Ayala, supra, at 429-430; see also, People v Johnson, 145 AD2d 573 [2d Dept], lv denied 73 NY2d 923 [Wade hearing testimony inadmissible].)

Similarly, the appellate courts of the State have held that other types of testimony falling outside of the scope of the exceptions set forth in CPL 670.10 are not admissible (see, e.g., People v Harding, 37 NY2d 130 [testimony at police department disciplinary hearing]). As previously noted, the Court of Appeals has explicitly held that Grand Jury testimony of an unavailable witness cannot be admitted into evidence pursuant to CPL 670.10. (People v Gonzalez, 54 NY2d 729, 730, supra.) Nevertheless, defendant here contends that his constitutional right to present a defense requires that the Grand Jury testimony of unavailable witnesses be admissible during his case, in spite of the statute and its strict interpretation by the Court of Appeals.

II. CONSTITUTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

One of the "minimum essentials of a fair trial” is the right to present a defense (Chambers v Mississippi, 410 US 284, 294, supra; Rosario v Kuhlman, 839 F2d 918, 924 [2d Cir]). This right is derived from both the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution and article I, §6 of the NY Constitution, and the Compulsory Process Clause of the Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution, and provides the accused with the means to present his version of the facts to the trial jury. It is a fundamental right which enables an accused to present witnesses in his own defense in order for the jury to determine the truth (see, Chambers v Mississippi, supra, at 302; Webb v Texas, 409 US 95; Washington v Texas, 388 US 14, 19; Rosario v Kuhlman, supra; People v Chipp, 75 NY2d 327, 336). Moreover, as the Second Circuit [438]*438aptly stated in Rosario v Kuhlman (supra, at 924), the right to present a defense "comprehends more than the right to present the direct testimony of live witnesses, and includes the right under certain circumstances, to place before the jury secondary forms of evidence, such as hearsay or * * * prior testimony”. Thus, in Chambers v Mississippi (410 US 284, supra), the United States Supreme Court found that the State trial court, which invoked a State common-law rule of evidence known as the "voucher” rule, prohibiting the defendant from impeaching his own witness through cross-examination or by calling other witnesses to contradict the witness, violated the defendant’s constitutional right to present a defense. Here, as in Chambers, defendant seeks to present an alibi defense by introducing the Grand Jury testimony of Vu Vinh and Phi Trung Tran on his direct case. Yet defendant faces a similar impediment of a narrowly written and constructed State statute, CPL 670.10, which permits the admission of only a very few forms of secondary evidence at a criminal trial, which flies in the face of his constitutional right to present a defense. Accordingly, pursuant to the fundamental right to present such a defense, clearly enunciated in Chambers, neither CPL 670.10, nor case law interpreting that provision can stand in the way of the introduction of the Grand Jury testimony of Vu Vinh and Phi Trung Tran, provided that the testimony meets certain standards for admissibility. Defendant’s constitutional right requires that such testimony be introduced, even though it is hearsay, and even though no exceptions to the hearsay rule are otherwise applicable.

III. STANDARDS FOR ADMISSIBILITY

A defendant may introduce secondary forms of evidence in his defense at a criminal proceeding if (a) the evidence is material to the defense (United States v Agurs, 427 US 97, 112, 113), (b) the evidence bears sufficient indicia of reliability (Ohio v Roberts, 448 US 56, 66), and (c) the defendant establishes that the testifying witness is no longer available (Rosario v Kuhlman, 839 F2d 918, 924, supra; United States ex rel. Bracey v Fairman, 712 F2d 315, 318 [7th Cir]).

A. MATERIALITY

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Bluebook (online)
150 Misc. 2d 435, 568 N.Y.S.2d 498, 1990 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 718, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-phan-nysupct-1990.