AMICUS AI
Citation Codes
Equivalent Citations
citation codes
Are you a practicing lawyer?
Enhance your digital presence and reach by creating a Casemine profile.
Upload pleading to use the new AI search
Cites
Cited by
Citation Codes
Equivalent Citations
citation codes

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. SCOTT BELLAMY, Appellant.

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

The defendant's contention that his conviction should be reversed because of prosecutorial misconduct is without merit. The prejudice, if any, arising from the prosecutor's reference in the opening statement to evidence that had previously been suppressed, or the prosecutor's elicitation of hearsay testimony, was cured, respectively, by the court's prompt instructions to the jury ( see, People v. Nathan, 224 A.D.2d 640; People v. Rivera, 142 A.D.2d 614) and the immediate striking of the testimony ( see, People v. Thornton, 157 A.D.2d 758; People v. Nagi, 153 A.D.2d 964).

Further, the defendant failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that the prosecutor engaged in a "pattern of purposeful exclusion sufficient to raise an inference of discrimination" ( People v. Bolling, 79 N.Y.2d 317, 325; see, People v. Morris, 217 A.D.2d 710; see generally, Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79; People v. Jenkins, 75 N.Y.2d 550).

The imposition of consecutive sentences was proper ( see, Penal Law § 70.25), since the offense of criminal possession of a weapon is by itself a complete and separate crime regardless of any unlawful use of the weapon ( see, People v. Almodovar, 62 N.Y.2d 126, 130), and is not a material element of the offense of unlawful imprisonment in the first degree ( see, Penal Law § 135.10, 265.02 Penal [1], [4]; cf., People v. Laureano, 87 N.Y.2d 640, 644).

We have considered the defendant's remaining contentions and find them to be without merit.

Thompson, J.P., Pizzuto, Joy and Florio, JJ., concur.

Use AI to get other relevant cases.

Comments

PEOPLE v. BELLAMY
(Feb 23, 1998)