Case Name: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Joseph Scarpulla, Appellant
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1997-04-07
Citations: 238 A.D.2d 359
Docket Number: 
Parties: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Joseph Scarpulla, Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: Appellate Division Reports
Volume: 238
Pages: 359–360

Head Matter:
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Joseph Scarpulla, Appellant.
[656 NYS2d 55]

Opinion:
—Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Richmond County (Kuffner, J.), rendered April 28, 1995, convicting him of burglary in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The court did not improvidently exercise its discretion in denying the defendant's application to preclude cross-examination of him with respect to the acts underlying several prior convictions. The court, in limiting inquiry with respect to certain convictions while allowing full inquiry with regard to other convictions, demonstrated sensitivity to the balance between the probative value of the defendant's prior crimes upon his credibility and the possible prejudice to the defendant (see, People v Sandoval, 34 NY2d 371, 375; People v Walker, 83 NY2d 455, 459). "That the number of prior convictions ruled admissible was large" does not establish that the court improvidently exercised its discretion since there are no per se rules requiring preclusion because of the number of the prior crimes (see, People v Walker, supra, at 459). Mangano, P. J., O'Brien, Thompson and Goldstein, JJ., concur.