Court Opinion

ID: 9520653
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 01:46:31.648287+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:46:35.608084
License: Public Domain

R.S. Smith, J.
(concurring). I cannot agree that Supreme Court’s charge was flawed. The court instructed the jury to “decide this case solely on the basis of the evidence or lack of evidence actually presented to you in this courtroom, which you actually saw and heard in this courtroom.” The court added: “Do not speculate on the whereabouts of people whose names are mentioned as having been at the alleged scene of the crime who were not called as witnesses. No one is required to come to court and testify. Don’t speculate on their non-appearance, or what they might have said if they would have come.” These were straightforward “do not speculate” instructions, neither wrong in themselves nor likely to mislead the jury in the context of this case. Defendant’s counsel, in his summation, barely mentioned the failure of the “ghost” officer to testify, and a reasonable jury would not have understood the court’s instructions as an order to disregard counsel’s argument.
Since I disagree with the majority on this issue, I reach, as the majority does not, the alternative ground defendant offers to support the Appellate Division’s reversal of his conviction. This alternative argument is based on Supreme Court’s ruling that the undercover officer who allegedly bought heroin from defendant could testify anonymously. The ruling was made during a colloquy that began when the prosecutor said she would not ask that the courtroom be closed pursuant to People v Hinton (31 NY2d 71 [1972]). The colloquy continued:
“ms. williams [the prosecutor]: So, my detective will
be using his name.
“the court: He will. Okay.
*736“ms. williams: I’m asking if the Court—
“the court: If he wants to; he doesn’t have to. He can use his number, if you’d rather go by number. That’s fine with me.
“ms. williams: Okay.
“mr verchick [defense counsel]: Well, I will object.
“the court: Over the Defense’s objection, he cannot state his name. I think that’s reasonable.”
This ruling clearly violated defendant’s right of confrontation under our decision in People v Stanard (42 NY2d 74 [1977]). We held in Stanard that a witness may be permitted to remain anonymous only where the prosecution makes “some showing of why the witness should be excused from answering” a question related to his identity. We said that “[e]xcuse may arise from a showing that the question will harass, annoy, humiliate or endanger the witness” (id. at 84). Even upon such a showing, anonymity is not granted automatically; the defendant is entitled to show “the materiality of the requested information to the issue of guilt or innocence,” and “the court must engage in a balancing process which compares the rights of the defendant to cross-examination . . . with the interest of the witness in retaining some degree of anonymity” (id.). Here, Supreme Court conferred anonymity on the witness sua sponte, although the prosecutor offered to have the witness use his name and did not try to make the showing Stanard requires.
The People’s only argument on this branch of the case is that defense counsel’s statement “I will object” was not specific enough to preserve the Stanard issue for review. But while we have at times required a more specific objection for preservation purposes (e.g., People v West, 56 NY2d 662 [1982]), we have never held that a simple “I object” is always insufficient. Here, where the error was egregious, and where the basis for defendant’s protest should have been obvious, the general objection fulfilled the purpose of the preservation requirement by alerting the trial judge to the error and giving him a chance to avoid it (cf. People v Vidal, 26 NY2d 249, 254 [1970]; People v Payne, 3 NY3d 266, 273 [2004] [“We decline to . . . elevate preservation to a formality that would bar an appeal even though the trial court . . . had a full opportunity to review the issue in question”]).
Accordingly, I would affirm the Appellate Division’s order on the ground that Supreme Court erred in allowing the undercover officer to testify anonymously.
*737Chief Judge Kaye and Judges G.B. Smith, Ciparick, Rosenblatt, Graffeo and Read concur; Judge R.S. Smith concurs in result in an opinion.
Order affirmed in a memorandum.