Case Name: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Eric Roy Glenn, Appellant
Court: New York Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1981-01-15
Citations: 52 N.Y.2d 880
Docket Number: 
Parties: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Eric Roy Glenn, Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: New York Reports
Volume: 52
Pages: 880–881

Head Matter:
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Eric Roy Glenn, Appellant.
Argued December 15, 1980;
decided January 15, 1981
APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL
William H. Roth and William E. Hellerstein for appellant.
Mario Merola, District Attorney (Howard Birnbach and Billie Manning of counsel), for respondent.

Opinion:
OPINION OF THE COURT
Memorandum.
The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, and a new trial ordered.
On cross-examination the trial court, over repeated objection, allowed the District Attorney to question defendant not only as to whether he had conferred with his attorney about the case but as well as to the subject matter of their conversation, viz., the law of self-defense. We agree with the Appellate Division that the latter was error. The District Attorney plainly sought to probe defendant's confidential discussions with his attorney on a matter which was the principal issue in the case and, by compelling defendant to admit that his attorney had informed him of the legal requirements of the justification defense, violated the attorney-client privilege.
We cannot agree with the Appellate Division, however, that the error was harmless. The weight and nature of the proof of guilt, taken in light of the assertion of self-defense, was not overwhelming. Thus there is no basis for consideration of the application here of the harmless error doctrine.
We have examined defendant's remaining contentions and find they were not preserved for our review.
Chief Judge Cooke and Judges Jasen, Gabrielli, Jones, Wachtler, Fuchsberg and Meyer concur in memorandum.
Order reversed, etc.