Judge’s Refusal to Allow Defendant to Call Inmate Witness Required Reversal

The Fourth Department reversed defendant’s conviction because the trial court refused defendant’s request to present an inmate witness who might have supported defendant’s version of events:

CPL 630.10 provides for the attendance of an inmate witness in a criminal action or proceeding upon a demonstration of “reasonable cause to believe that such person possesses information material” to such proceeding.  Here, defendant made the requisite showing under that statute, and the court abused its discretion in refusing to order the production of the subject inmate witness whose testimony defendant sought to present at trial… .  There is no dispute that the proposed inmate witness spoke to the driver of the vehicle in which defendant was a passenger just before defendant’s arrest.  The proposed witness was at a distance of between 20 feet and 20 yards from the vehicle at the time of defendant’s arrest.  Moreover, we note that there was no fingerprint evidence in this case, which involved a top count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (Penal Law § 265.03 [3]), and the issue of defendant’s guilt turned largely on the testimony of two police detectives.  We cannot countenance the court’s refusal to allow defendant to present the testimony of a witness who might have supported defendant’s version of events.  People v Baxter, 599, 4th Dept 7-19-13