People v. Washington

44 A.D.3d 973, 843 N.Y.S.2d 686

Opinion

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Rotker, J.), rendered June 17, 2004, convicting him of manslaughter in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, after a nonjury trial, and imposing sentence.

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

Where a defendant charged with a homicide relies on the justification defense, evidence of a decedent’s prior specific criminal acts of violence, of which the defendant had knowledge, are admissible provided that the acts were reasonably related to the crime with which the defendant was charged (see People v Reynoso, 73 NY2d 816, 818 [1988]; People v Miller, 39 NY2d 543, 551 [1976]; People v Fore, 33 AD3d 932, 932-933 [2006]; People v Santiago, 211 AD2d 734 [1995]). Here, the trial court providently exercised its discretion in limiting the evidence of the decedent’s prior specific criminal acts of violence (see People v Miller, 39 NY2d at 551-552; People v Fore, 33 AD3d at 933; People v Santiago, 211 AD2d at 734-735; People v Dupigney, 156 AD2d 709 [1989]). Moreover, the excluded evidence would have been merely cumulative (see People v Ross, 197 AD2d 713, 714 [1993]).

The defendant’s remaining contentions are without merit. Miller, J.P., Goldstein, Skelos and Balkin, JJ., concur.