Case Name: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Bruce Patterson, Appellant
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1980-06-16
Citations: 76 A.D.2d 891
Docket Number: 
Parties: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Bruce Patterson, Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: Appellate Division Reports
Volume: 76
Pages: 891–891

Head Matter:
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Bruce Patterson, Appellant.

Opinion:
Appeal by defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County, rendered April 28, 1977, convicting him of robbery in the first degree, burglary in the second degree and petit larceny, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence. Judgment affirmed. The trial court's equation, in its charge to the jury, of a reasonable doubt with a doubt to a moral certainty, to which no exception was taken, was improper (People v Forest, 50 AD2d 260, 262). However, when taken as a whole (People v Fitzgerald, 26 AD2d 712, 713), the charge did properly define the concept of reasonable doubt for the jury; the trial court's error, on the record before us, was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt (People v Crimmins, 36 NY2d 230, 237). We have examined defendant's other contentions, and find them to be without merit. Mangano, J. P., Gibbons, Rabin and Gulotta, JJ., concur.