A SANDOVAL RULING ADDRESSED THE ADMISSIBILITY OF LIMITED REFERENCE TO DEFENDANT’S PRIOR CONVICTION ON CROSS-EXAMINATION; AT THE TIME OF THE ALLEGED RAPE, THE DEFENDANT TOLD THE VICTIM HE HAD SPENT SEVERAL YEARS IN PRISON; WITHOUT SEEKING A PRIOR VENTIMIGLIA RULING, THE PEOPLE INFORMED THE JURY ABOUT DEFENDANT’S “YEARS IN PRISON” STATEMENT TO THE VICTIM IN THE OPENING; NEW TRIAL ORDERED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, ordering a new trial, determined the prosecutor’s introduction of a statement defendant made to the victim about his prior incarceration warranted reversal of defendant’s rape conviction. The prosecutor had not sought a prior “Ventimiglia” ruling on the admissibility of the statement. The statement was the subject of a prior Sandoval ruling which allowed limited reference to the prior conviction in cross-examination of the defendant. The trial judge, after hearing argument on the “Ventimiglia” issue after the statement had been introduced, determined the statement would have been ruled admissible had a prior request for a ruling been made:

In ruling on the People’s proffer, County Court fashioned a Sandoval compromise that limited the scope of questioning to the existence of the conviction and when it occurred, with no information about “the title, the classification, the violent nature under the Penal Law [or] the sentence . .. as well as underlying facts, unless the defense were to open the door with regard to those issues.” In spite of that ruling, in their opening statement, the People stated that, during the encounter but prior to any sexual assault, defendant “disclosed something unexpected, something that jarred [the victim]”; specifically, that “he had spent several years in prison.” * * *

We find that the People’s introduction of the statement referencing defendant’s prior incarceration without first seeking an advanced Ventimiglia ruling was improper … . While County Court’s Sandoval compromise was limited to the introduction of such evidence on cross-examination, it directly addressed the proof at issue; specifically, the allowable reference to defendant’s prior conviction. To this point, the People’s contention that the evidence was not subject to a prior ruling as it was part of the criminal conduct itself runs contrary to the fact that the Sandoval proffer on this exact evidence before trial reflected that it was subject to a discretionary determination as to whether the probative value outweighed the risk for real prejudice. Thus, the People effectively deprived defendant of the benefit of such analysis prior to introduction of the evidence by circumventing the Sandoval ruling … . People v Osman, 2024 NY Slip Op 03106, Third Dept 6-6-24

Practice Point: Here, at the time of the alleged rape, defendant told the victim he had spent several years in prison. Although the People sought a Sandoval ruling on the admissibility of evidence of defendant’s prior conviction during defendant’s cross-examination, the People did not seek a “Ventimiglia” ruling on the admissibility of such evidence in its direct case. The People’s reference to defendant’s statement in their opening was deemed reversible error.