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People v. Payne

50 N.Y.2d 867 Court N.Y. Decision date 1980-06-03 English

Contents

Majority

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The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Abraham Payne, Appellant.
Argued May 1, 1980;
decided June 3, 1980
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APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL
Paul A. Feigenbaum for appellant.
Mario Merola, District Attorney (Vida M. Alvy and Billie Manning of counsel), for respondent.

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed.

Appellant relies principally on two asserted errors. First, he contends that it was error to deny his motion to preclude cross-examination, in the event he took the witness stand, with respect to his 1973 misdemeanor conviction for illegal possession of a pistol. There was no error of law in this ruling which would warrant our disturbing the rejection of appel

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lant’s arguments by the Appellate Division (People v Mackey, 49 NY2d 274 ).

Second, appellant contends that the trial court erred in permitting the prosecutor, over objection, to cross-examine defendant’s alibi witness, Archie Miller, as to why he had not gone to the police or to the District Attorney to relate his version of the events to which he testified on trial. This was not error (People v Dawson, 50 NY2d 311 ). Nothing in the content or manner of cross-examination suggested or implied that the witness was under any duty to go to the police or the District Attorney, and in any event appellant requested no curative instruction (cf. People v Dawson, supra, at p 322 ).

We have examined appellant’s other contentions and find them to be without merit.

Chief Judge Cooke and Judges Jasen, Gabrielli, Jones, Wachtler, Fuchsberg and Meyer concur.

Order affirmed in a memorandum.

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