Case Name: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Benjamin Green, Also Known as Benjamin Greene, Appellant
Court: New York Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1991-10-15
Citations: 78 N.Y.2d 1029
Docket Number: 
Parties: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Benjamin Green, Also Known as Benjamin Greene, Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: New York Reports
Volume: 78
Pages: 1029–1031

Head Matter:
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Benjamin Green, Also Known as Benjamin Greene, Appellant.
Argued September 11, 1991;
decided October 15, 1991
APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL
J. Jeffrey Weisenfeld for appellant.
Robert M. Morgenthau, District Attorney (Laurie Sapakoff and Mark Dwyer of counsel), for respondent.

Opinion:
OPINION OF THE COURT
Memorandum.
The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed and a new trial ordered.
The Grand Jury testimony of an eyewitness to the crime, which identified defendant as one of the perpetrators, did not fall within the classes of prior testimony rendered admissible in criminal proceedings by CPL 670.10. Inasmuch as the statute's "three carefully worded and enumerated exceptions" are exclusive (People v Harding, 37 NY2d 130, 134; see, People v Ayala, 75 NY2d 422, 429), the trial court erred in allowing the witness' prior testimony to be admitted as evidence-in-chief against the defendant. Under the circumstances of this case, in which identification was the central issue, we cannot conclude that the error was harmless.