You are here: / / DETECTIVE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO TESTIFY AS AN EXPERT ABOUT THE...
,

DETECTIVE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO TESTIFY AS AN EXPERT ABOUT THE ROLES PLAYED BY THE PEOPLE OVERHEARD IN RECORDED PHONE CALLS IN THIS DRUG CONSPIRACY CASE, ERROR DEEMED HARMLESS HOWEVER.

Although deemed harmless error in this drug conspiracy prosecution, the Second Department determined a detective should not have been allowed to testify (as an expert) about the alleged roles played by people overheard in recorded phone calls:

It was proper to permit the detective to describe certain practices and define certain terms that have a “fixed meaning . . . within the narcotics world” … . However, it was error to permit the prosecutor to elicit testimony as to the roles played by the individuals overheard in the phone calls, and the relationships among them, for example, that several were “runners or workers” for the defendant or codefendant, and the meanings of certain “case-specific” terms that he had discovered in the course of the investigation. As the Court of Appeals cautioned in People v Inoa, where, as here, “the trial court qualifie[s] a government agent, intimately involved in the investigation of the case and development of the prosecution, to testify as an expert,” there is a danger that the agent will end up “testifying beyond any cognizable field of expertise as an apparently omniscient expositor of the facts of the case” (id. at 473), thereby usurping the role of the jury. Also improper was the testimony, elicited by the prosecutor from members of the surveillance teams who observed the defendant and his associates at the locations described in the phone calls, that what they witnessed was consistent with a drug transaction … . Nevertheless, we find that the improperly admitted testimony was harmless, as the proof of the defendant’s commission of the charged crimes was overwhelming, and there is “no significant probability that, but for the error, the verdict . . . would have been less adverse” … . People v Melendez, 2016 NY Slip Op 02667, 2nd Dept 4-6-16

CRIMINAL LAW DETECTIVE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO TESTIFY AS AN EXPERT ABOUT THE ROLES PLAYED BY THE PEOPLE OVERHEARD IN RECORDED PHONE CALLS IN THIS DRUG CONSPIRACY CASE, ERROR DEEMED HARMLESS HOWEVER)/EVIDENCE (CRIMINAL LAW, DETECTIVE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO TESTIFY AS AN EXPERT ABOUT THE ROLES PLAYED BY THE PEOPLE OVERHEARD IN RECORDED PHONE CALLS IN THIS DRUG CONSPIRACY CASE, ERROR DEEMED HARMLESS HOWEVER)/EXPERT OPINION (CRIMINAL LAW, DETECTIVE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO TESTIFY AS AN EXPERT ABOUT THE ROLES PLAYED BY THE PEOPLE OVERHEARD IN RECORDED PHONE CALLS IN THIS DRUG CONSPIRACY CASE, ERROR DEEMED HARMLESS HOWEVER)

You might also like
PLAINTIFF SUED A CHURCH ALLEGING THE CHURCH HELD PROPERTY IN TRUST FOR PLAINTIFF AND THE CHURCH WRONGFULLY OUSTED PLAINTIFF FROM THE PROPERTY; RESOLUTION OF THE SUIT WOULD INVOLVE NEUTRAL PRINCIPLES OF LAW, NOT RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES; THEREFORE, THE LAWSUIT WAS NOT PRECLUDED BY THE FIRST AMENDMENT (SECOND DEPT). ​
DEFENDANTS SCHOOL BUS COMPANY AND BOARD OF EDUCATION DID NOT HAVE NOTICE CHILDREN WHO INJURED INFANT PLAINTIFF ON THE SCHOOL BUS WERE CAPABLE OF DANGEROUS CONDUCT, DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).
ALLEGATION THE LADDER PLAINTIFF WAS USING SHIFTED FOR NO APPARENT REASON ENTITLED PLAINTIFF TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON HIS LABOR LAW 240 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION (SECOND DEPT).
OUT-OF-POSSESSION LANDLORD DID NOT DEMONSTRATE IT DID NOT CREATE THE DANGEROUS CONDITION, SUMMARY JUDGMENT PROPERLY DENIED.
Criteria for Vacation of an Arbitration Award Explained (Not Met Here)
​ THE MISDEMEANOR INFORMATION WAS BASED ON THE POLICE OFFICER’S UNEXPLAINED CONCLUSION THE DOCUMENT WAS FORGED AND DID NOT ALLEGE FACTS TO SUPPORT ALL THE ELEMENTS OF THE OFFENSE; CONVICTION REVERSED AND INFORMATION DISMISSED (SECOND DEPT).
THE JURY NOTE INDICATED THE REQUEST WAS FOR THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE PHONE CALL, BUT THE JUDGE DESCRIBED THE NOTE AS A REQUEST FOR THE PHONE CALL AND PROVIDED THE JURY WITH THE RECORDING OF THE CALL; NEW TRIAL ORDERED (SECOND DEPT).
NO EVIDENCE THE FATAL ACCIDENT WAS CAUSED BY DRIVING TOO FAST FOR THE CONDITIONS; PETITIONER WAS TRAVELLING BELOW THE SPEED LIMIT WHEN HIS CAR STRUCK A POTHOLE, CAUSING A MECHANICAL FAILURE (SECOND DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

CORPORATE VEIL PIERCED TO ENFORCE JUDGMENTS. ACKNOWLEDGING DEBT IN BANKRUPTCY PLAN RENEWED THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS WHICH...