Case Name: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Lane Gonzalez, Appellant
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1996-03-26
Citations: 225 A.D.2d 468
Docket Number: 
Parties: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Lane Gonzalez, Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: Appellate Division Reports
Volume: 225
Pages: 468–469

Head Matter:
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Lane Gonzalez, Appellant.
[639 NYS2d 386]

Opinion:
Defendant's guilt was proven by legally sufficient evidence and the verdict was not against the weight of the evidence (see, People v Bleakley, 69 NY2d 490).
The court's pre-voir dire instructions to the jury do not require reversal. Although the court was ill-advised in going into unnecessary detail as to the evidence that the prosecutor intended to offer at trial and the possibility of a "contrary" view, the court's, additional explicit instructions to the jurors, that the evidence will come "from the witness stand not me" and that a defendant in a criminal case has no burden to prove anything, were sufficient to dispel any prejudice to defendant. The court did not give the jurors a list of the elements of the charges (cf., People v Townsend, 67 NY2d 815), and the court's preliminary instructions were otherwise balanced (cf., People v Compton, 119 AD2d 473).
We perceive no abuse of discretion in sentencing. Concur— Rosenberger, J. P., Ellerin, Rubin and Nardelli, JJ.