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REFERENCES TO DEFENDANT’S PRIOR COMMISSION OF A VIOLENT CRIME AND IMPRISONMENT WERE INTERTWINED WITH THE DEFENSE EVIDENCE OF DEFENDANT’S LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY DUE TO MENTAL ILLNESS, THE PROBATIVE VALUE OUTWEIGHED THE PREJUDICIAL EFFECT.

The First Department, over a two-justice dissent, determined the prosecutor’s mention of the details of a prior violent crime of which defendant was convicted, evidence the defendant had been in prison, ineffective redaction of references to the prior crime in the medical records, restrictions on the defense expert’s testimony concerning the expert’s reasons for doubting defendant committed the prior crime, and defense counsel’s mention of the prior crime in voir dire, did not warrant reversal. Defendant was convicted of robbing a women of $40 at knife point. Defendant claimed he was not responsible by reason of mental illness. There was evidence he suffered from schizophrenia and he claimed voices told him to commit robbery to get money to buy cigarettes:

The court properly exercised its discretion in admitting evidence that defendant had been released from prison a few months before the robbery, and denying counsel’s request to redact that information from defendant’s medical records. In support of the defense of lack of criminal responsibility by reason of mental disease or defect, the defense psychiatric expert testified that defendant had been stable throughout his years in custody, when he received proper treatment for his schizophrenia. However, after he was released, he no longer received treatment, he became unstable, he began hearing voices, and he committed the robbery a few months later. Evidence of defendant’s confinement in prison was “inextricably interwoven” with the expert’s testimony and conclusion … . The court minimized the possible prejudice by excluding evidence of defendant’s underlying conviction and only admitted references to his imprisonment.

The court properly rejected defendant’s suggested use of terms such as “institution” or “facility,” rather than “prison,” because such terms might have confused the jury, or led it to speculate on the circumstances surrounding his confinement. Moreover, the court instructed the jury that the evidence was admitted solely for the purpose of evaluating the expert’s opinion. Thus, the probative value of the evidence outweighed any prejudicial effect, which was avoided by the court’s thorough limiting instructions … .

The dissent claims that the trial court infringed on defendant’s ability to present a defense when the court prevented defendant’s expert from expanding on his answers provided during cross-examination about defendant’s prior violent act. Defendant did not preserve his claim regarding the alleged limitations on his expert’s testimony, and we decline to review it in the interest of justice. As an alternative holding, we find no basis for reversal. People v Sanabria, 2017 NY Slip Op 04359, 1st Dept 6-1-17

CRIMINAL LAW (EVIDENCE, PRIOR CRIMES, REFERENCES TO DEFENDANT’S PRIOR COMMISSION OF A VIOLENT CRIME AND IMPRISONMENT WERE INTERTWINED WITH THE DEFENSE EVIDENCE OF DEFENDANT’S LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY DUE TO MENTAL ILLNESS, THE PROBATIVE VALUE OUTWEIGHED THE PREJUDICIAL EFFECT)/EVIDENCE (CRIMINAL LAW, PRIOR CRIMES, REFERENCES TO DEFENDANT’S PRIOR COMMISSION OF A VIOLENT CRIME AND IMPRISONMENT WERE INTERTWINED WITH THE DEFENSE EVIDENCE OF DEFENDANT’S LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY DUE TO MENTAL ILLNESS, THE PROBATIVE VALUE OUTWEIGHED THE PREJUDICIAL EFFECT)/PRIOR CRIMES AND BAD ACTS (CRIMINAL LAW, EVIDENCE, REFERENCES TO DEFENDANT’S PRIOR COMMISSION OF A VIOLENT CRIME AND IMPRISONMENT WERE INTERTWINED WITH THE DEFENSE EVIDENCE OF DEFENDANT’S LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY DUE TO MENTAL ILLNESS, THE PROBATIVE VALUE OUTWEIGHED THE PREJUDICIAL EFFECT)

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