A woman convicted of manslaughter was not denied her right to confront a witness who was sworn in as a male but allowed to testify as a female, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, has found. The panel unanimously rejected Sandra Arena’s allegation that the witness testified in "disguise" and, therefore, her constitutional right of confrontation was violated. Arena was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and third-degree assault after driving her car into a crowd of people outside a Rochester bar, killing a 22-year-old man.
At a nonjury trial before then-Monroe County Court Judge Frank Geraci in 2009, a witness who is a biological male but was dressed as a woman asked to testify as a female. During the trial, the prosecutor called the witness "Karen." On appeal, Arena argued Geraci violated her rights by permitting a witness to testify in disguise. In a decision last week, the Fourth Department rejected the argument. "County Court was not prevented from seeing the face or eyes of the witness or from observing the demeanor of the witness," the panel said in People v. Arena, 09-02147.
