Opinion ID: 780494
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Summation, the Jury's Verdict, and Subsequent Proceedings

Text: 38 In his summation, the ADA argued, inter alia, that Grotto's presence at the townhouse on the morning of Linda's wedding was shown directly by the testimony of A.G. and was supported by several pieces of circumstantial evidence. The ADA argued, inter alia, that, given the testimony of Grotto, Linda, and Kenneth that Grotto was to be the official photographer for the wedding, and the testimony of the defense witnesses that Grotto was on good terms with every member of his family, their testimony that he had not been at Linda's house at all, for any of the pre- or post-wedding festivities, was highly implausible. 39 In addition, as anticipated by Winslow, the ADA pointed to the sequence of pictures shown by the negatives in PX 11. The first three exposures on that negative strip were pictures taken at Linda's townhouse; the fourth exposure showed the courthouse, a picture that Linda said Grotto had taken. The ADA argued that the fact of their being together on that exhibit tells you that the person who took this picture was the same one who took all these other pictures at the house, and that this made it clear that Grotto was at the townhouse on the morning of the wedding. (Tr. 599.) 40 The jury found Grotto guilty of all the charges against him. Immediately after the verdict was rendered and in several applications thereafter, Grotto moved to set aside the verdict on the basis that the trial court should not have denied his request to reopen his case and present the new evidence that prints of two of the PX 11 negatives bore the handwriting of Rochelle. All of his motions were denied. 41 The Appellate Division affirmed Grotto's conviction, and leave to appeal to the New York Court of Appeals was denied. As to the contention that Grotto should have been allowed to reopen the evidence, the Appellate Division ruled 42 that [the] County Court acted well within its discretion in denying defendant's motion to reopen the proof after both sides had rested, in order to produce evidence as to photographs that had not only been in defendant's possession at all times but which had for months been the subject of an outstanding prosecution discovery demand .... 43 People v. Grotto, 223 A.D.2d 758, 759, 636 N.Y.S.2d 436, 438 (3d Dep't), lv. denied, 87 N.Y.2d 1020, 644 N.Y.S.2d 153, 666 N.E.2d 1067 (1996).