People v. Mack
Opinion of the Court
The defendant’s contention that a severance was warranted is unpreserved for appellate review (see People v Sabatino, 41 AD3d 871, 871 [2007]; People v Johnson, 224 AD2d 635, 638 [1996]). In any event, the defendant’s contention is without merit, as the defenses asserted by the defendant and the codefendant were not in irreconcilable conflict with each other such that there was a danger that the conflict alone would have led the jury to infer the defendant’s guilt (see People v Mahboubian, 74 NY2d 174, 184 [1989]; People v Terry, 78 AD3d 1207, 1207 [2010]).
The defendant further contends that he was denied his right to confrontation by the Supreme Court’s admission of certain out-of-court statements made by the codefendant (see Bruton v
The defendant also contends that the Supreme Court committed reversible error by admitting a police radio transmission and the tape of the complainant’s 911 call since such evidence constituted inadmissible hearsay which improperly bolstered witness testimony as prior consistent statements. The defendant’s contention that the Supreme Court erred by admitting the police radio transmission is unpreserved for appellate review (see People v Walker, 70 AD3d 870 [2010]). In any event, both the police radio transmission and the tape of the complainant’s 911 call were properly admitted. An out-of-court statement made by a witness which is consistent with that witness’s trial testimony is generally inadmissible as hearsay, but it may be admitted to rebut a claim of recent fabrication — an exception to the hearsay rule (see People v Buie, 86 NY2d 501, 510-511 [1995]; see also People v Baker, 23 NY2d 307, 323 [1968]; People v Concepcion, 175 AD2d 324, 326 n [1991]). However, if the out-of-court statement qualifies under a separate exception to the rule against hearsay, it may be admitted notwithstanding the fact that “it might also be a prior consistent statement” (People v Buie, 86 NY2d at 511). Here, the police radio transmission was properly admitted to establish circumstances relevant to the defendant’s arrest (see People v Severino, 44 AD3d 1077 [2007]; People v Isaac, 222 AD2d 523 [1995]; People v Thompson, 202 AD2d 454 [1994]), and the complainant’s 911 call was properly admitted under the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule (see People v Coward, 292 AD2d 630 [2002]; People v Carr, 277 AD2d 246, 247 [2000]). Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly admitted the police radio transmission and the tape of the complainant’s 911 call (see People v Buie, 86 NY2d at 511). Skelos, J.E, Eng, Austin and Miller, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.