Opinion ID: 662470
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The State-Court Trial

Text: 3 At Mason's jury trial in New York Supreme Court in June 1987, none of the three men who had pleaded guilty to the robbery was called to testify. Nor was there any evidence that Mason's fingerprints were found in the store, or in the getaway car, or on any of the stolen jewelry that was recovered. The recovered jewelry was found in the apartment of Arthur's girlfriend; there was no evidence that Mason had any association with anyone connected with that apartment. Rather, the State's evidence at Mason's trial consisted principally of the testimony of investigating police detective Phillip Fuhr and three eyewitnesses: (1) Sam Rouhani, the Store's owner, (2) Mohammed Weiss, a salesman, and (3) Larry Taylor, a security guard. A fourth eyewitness did not testify. 4 Rouhani and Weiss had not been asked to view Mason in a pretrial lineup or a photographic array and testified that they could not recall any distinguishing features that would permit them to identify him. They were able to identify him at trial, however. He was the only black man sitting at the defense table. 5 Taylor, who likewise was unable to recall any distinguishing features, identified Mason both in a pretrial lineup and at trial. According to Taylor's trial testimony, on the afternoon of December 21, 1986, Mason and three other men entered the Store. Mason told Taylor his name was Gerard and asked about the price of a gold nameplate. Taylor told him it cost $550; when Mason said he had only $20 with him, Taylor told him that was not enough to start a layaway plan. Mason said he would ask his wife for more money; he then left the store and Taylor followed, returning when he saw Mason go to a telephone. Mason soon reentered the Store and said that his wife would not give him more money; Taylor told him he could give the boss the $20 and bring in more money later. At that point, Mason and the three other men drew their guns and robbed the store. 6 Taylor testified that his conversation with Mason had lasted 8-15 minutes. Through Detective Fuhr, trial counsel brought out evidence that in the six-man lineup conducted a month after the robbery, it had taken Taylor three minutes to identify Mason. 7 A report describing the statements of the eyewitnesses given to the police shortly after the robbery (the police report) was quite different from Taylor's trial account of the event. According to the police report, the four men simply entered, produced guns, and proceeded to rob the Store. On the day following the robbery, after the police received a tip from a confidential informant (see below), the four eyewitnesses were shown a photographic spread, and one or more of them identified photographs of Rivera and Arthur. The police report stated that the 8 [w]itnesses said that Rivera appeared to be in charge of the robbery and added that he came into their store the day before the robbery & gave an order for a gold nameplate GERARD to the owner. 9 The police report contained no indication that any of the witnesses said he had spoken with any of the robbers other than Rivera, or that Taylor said he had had a sale-related conversation with any of the robbers on the day of the robbery, or that any witness said any of the robbers had left the store on the day of the robbery and returned. Mason's trial counsel made no attempt to use the police report to impeach Taylor's testimony. 10 The State's other principal witness was Detective Fuhr, who investigated the robbery. According to the police report, after the robbery a confidential informant had informed the police that three of the men who had robbed the Store were Rivera, Arthur, and Moore; the informant had not seen and could not identify the fourth man. Fuhr testified that between January 6 and January 13, 1987, he arrested Rivera, Arthur, and Moore. The prosecutor then proceeded to question Fuhr as follows: 11 Q. And, after the lineup [in which Taylor identified Rivera], was a conversation held with George Rivera? 12 This is a yes or no question. 13 A. Yes. 14 Q. And, after this conversation with George Rivera, were you looking for somebody? 15 A. Yes, I was. 16 Q. And, who were you looking for? 17 A. Terrence Mason. 18 Mason's trial counsel had requested at the start of trial that the prosecution not be allowed to introduce any evidence of statements by Mason's nontestifying codefendants, and the trial court had cautioned the prosecutor to be mindful of that problem. Nonetheless, trial counsel made no objection to the prosecutor's questions eliciting that Fuhr's conversation with Rivera had led Fuhr to look for Mason. Nor did trial counsel move to strike or otherwise limit the prosecutor's use of that testimony. In his summation, the prosecutor argued: 19 What else does Philip Fuhr do? 20 He asks around. He conducts a police investigation. Eventually, he makes a number of arrests. 21 .... It was brought out that Kevin Moore, Christopher Arthur were apprehended.... 22 Later, we have the arrest of George Rivera. More conversations, more information. 23 Eventually, the Defendant, Terrence Mason, is apprehended. 24 Mason's trial attorney made no objection to the summation. 25 The jury deliberated, then asked to have read back Taylor's testimony and the testimony of Detective Fuhr, relating to the apprehension of the Defendant. Mason's trial counsel made no objection; the testimony was read to the jury. Sometime later, the jury advised the court that it was not able to reach a verdict and that even if it deliberated for days it would not be able to decide the issue. The court delivered an Allen charge (Allen v. United States, 164 U.S. 492, 17 S.Ct. 154, 41 L.Ed. 528 (1896)). Later that day, the jury returned a verdict of guilty. The court sentenced Mason to two concurrent terms of 10-20 and 6-12 years' imprisonment.