Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Cortland County (Avery, Jr., J.), rendered September 7, 1999, upon a verdict convicting defendant of the crimes of rape in the second degree (two counts), sexual abuse in the second degree (two counts), sodomy in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child.
In July 1998, a six-count indictment was handed up against
We address first defendant’s claim that various Brady violations warrant dismissal of the indictment or, at the least, a new trial (see, Brady v Maryland,
The medical and mental health records were generated and held by the respective medical and counseling facilities which provided services to the victim. The medical records were not in the possession of the People until just prior to trial, at which time they were promptly forwarded to defense counsel. County Court found that the time which defense counsel had to review them before trial (four days) was sufficient. We agree with County Court and find no Brady violation under these circumstances. As to the victim’s counseling records, defense counsel himself sought an order directing production of these records and County Court signed a subpoena duces tecum for an in camera review. Although counsel was subsequently given a fortuitous opportunity to review the confidential records because they were inadvertently delivered to him instead of to the court, they contained no exculpatory material. Finally, as to the Tompkins County criminal file, the record makes clear that defense counsel was given the opportunity to review the entire file yet choose not to avail himself of that opportunity. Never
Next, we find particularly unpersuasive the contention that County Court demonstrated bias against defendant by ruling in favor of the People “to an excessive degree” throughout the proceedings and by “usurping the [People’s] function at trial.” These very same contentions were raised by defense counsel against the same Judge in another matter before this Court and rejected (see, People v Travis,
Throughout all proceedings in this matter, County Court ruled on motions and objections in an equal-handed manner, demonstrating no bias or favoritism toward either side. While the court did on occasion ask questions during the examination of various witnesses — including the only defense witness — the questions were clearly intended to assist the witnesses in being more specific regarding dates and events so as to clarify matters for the jury as the proof developed and to expedite the proceedings (see, People v Travis, supra; People v Chen,
As a final matter on this issue, we note that defense counsel never moved for recusal (see, Judiciary Law § 14; compare, People v Nenni,
Cardona, P. J., Crew III, Graffeo and Mugglin, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
