People v. Quezada

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York

People v. Quezada

66 A.D.2d 520, 887 N.Y.S.2d 63

CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York

DecidedOctober 15, 2009

StatusPublished

This text of 66 A.D.2d 520 (People v. Quezada) 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. Quezada, 66 A.D.2d 520, 887 N.Y.S.2d 63 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2009).

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Opinion

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Seth L. Marvin, J.), rendered May 1, 2006, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of manslaughter in the first degree, and sentencing him to a term of 20 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 People’s witness consistently stated that defendant played a leading role in beating the victim to death, and the inconsistencies in his testimony were insignificant.

Of defendant’s claims of prosecutorial misconduct, the only [521]*521one that is arguably preserved relates to the prosecutor’s brief summation remark that defendant and his codefendant “know” they are guilty. The court’s curative instruction, which the jury is presumed to have followed (see People v Davis, 58 NY2d 1102, 1104 [1983]) was sufficient to prevent any prejudice, and the court properly exercised its discretion in declining to declare a mistrial or give an additional curative instruction. Defendant’s remaining assertions of prosecutorial misconduct are unpreserved and we decline to review them in the interest of justice. As an alternative holding, we find that none of the claimed misconduct deprived defendant of a fair trial.

We perceive no basis for reducing the sentence. Concur— Andrias, J.P., Sweeny, Nardelli, Richter and Abdus-Salaam, JJ.

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Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Seth L. Marvin, J.), rendered May 1, 2006, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of manslaughter in the first degree, and sentencing him to a term of 20 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 People’s witness consistently stated that defendant played a leading role in beating the victim to death, and the inconsistencies in his testimony were insignificant.

Of defendant’s claims of prosecutorial misconduct, the only [521]*521one that is arguably preserved relates to the prosecutor’s brief summation remark that defendant and his codefendant “know” they are guilty. The court’s curative instruction, which the jury is presumed to have followed (see People v Davis, 58 NY2d 1102, 1104 [1983]) was sufficient to prevent any prejudice, and the court properly exercised its discretion in declining to declare a mistrial or give an additional curative instruction. Defendant’s remaining assertions of prosecutorial misconduct are unpreserved and we decline to review them in the interest of justice. As an alternative holding, we find that none of the claimed misconduct deprived defendant of a fair trial.

We perceive no basis for reducing the sentence. Concur— Andrias, J.P., Sweeny, Nardelli, Richter and Abdus-Salaam, JJ.

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Bluebook (online)

66 A.D.2d 520, 887 N.Y.S.2d 63, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-quezada-nyappdiv-2009.

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