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224 A.D.2d 556
N.Y. App. Div.
1996

—Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Rockland County (Kelly, J.), rendered June 22, 1994, convicting him of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree (two counts) and criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree (two counts), upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

It is well settled that the trial court has broad discretion in determining the extent to which a prosecutor may cross-examine a defendant with respect to prior crimes (see, People v Sandoval, 34 NY2d 371; People v Pierre, 209 AD2d 729). Contrary to the defendant’s contention, the County Court’s Sandoval ruling did not constitute an improvident exercise of its discretion.

"Normally, a witness may not testify concerning a previous identification of a defendant from photographs (see, People v Caserta, 19 NY2d 18). However, such testimony is permitted when the defendant opens the door to this line of inquiry (see, People v Bolden, 58 NY2d 741)” (People v Grate, 122 AD2d 853, 854). Here, during voir dire the defense counsel told the jury that the defendant was misidentified, and during cross-examination defense counsel asked one of the People’s witnesses about a photograph of the defendant that was shown to two investigators. Therefore, the defendant opened the door to *557the testimony of the two investigators that they had previously identified the defendant in a photograph.

The defendant’s remaining contentions are either unpreserved for appellate review or without merit. Mangano, P. J., Miller, Thompson and Joy, JJ., concur.

Case Details

Case Name: People v. Sanders
Court Name: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
Date Published: Feb 13, 1996
Citations: 224 A.D.2d 556; 638 N.Y.S.2d 171; 1996 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 1138
Court Abbreviation: N.Y. App. Div.
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