PEOPLE, res, v. JOHN ROBINSON, def-ap

4642. PEOPLE, res, v. JOHN ROBINSON, def-ap — Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Mark W. Zeno of counsel), for ap — Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Patricia Curran of counsel), for res — Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Edward J. McLaughlin, J.), rendered November 17, 2015, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony drug offender previously convicted of a violent felony, to concurrent terms of seven years, unanimously modified, on the law, to the extent of vacating the possession conviction and remanding for a new trial on that count if the People be so advised, and vacating the sentence on the sale conviction and remanding for resentencing on that conviction, and otherwise affirmed.

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4642. PEOPLE, res, v. JOHN ROBINSON, def-ap — Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Mark W. Zeno of counsel), for ap — Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Patricia Curran of counsel), for res — Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Edward J. McLaughlin, J.), rendered November 17, 2015, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony drug offender previously convicted of a violent felony, to concurrent terms of seven years, unanimously modified, on the law, to the extent of vacating the possession conviction and remanding for a new trial on that count if the People be so advised, and vacating the sentence on the sale conviction and remanding for resentencing on that conviction, and otherwise affirmed.

The court erred in precluding defense counsel from questioning a detective about the factual allegations in a pending federal civil lawsuit, in which the detective was a named defendant. Specifically, counsel sought to ask the arresting detective “whether he in fact found the drugs on [the plaintiff in that case]; isn’t it true that [the plaintiff] did not in fact have any drugs, nonetheless you still in fact arrested him.” These allegations were relevant to the detective’s credibility, and counsel laid the correct foundation for this form of impeachment (see People v. Smith, 27 NY3d 652 [2016]).

PEOPLE, res, v. JOHN ROBINSON, def-ap

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