People v. Hichez

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Bonnie G. Wittner, J.), rendered May 1, 2014, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of attempted burglary in the second degree, and sentencing him, as a persistent violent felony offender, to a term of 12 years to life, unanimously reversed, on the law, defendant’s motion to preclude identification testimony granted, and the matter remanded for a new trial.

The verdict was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of the evidence. However, the court erred in finding that the People were not required to provide CPL 710.30 (1) (b) notice with regard to the identification testimony of a police officer. His brief observation of defendant leaving the scene of the crime, approximately an hour before the identification, was not “so clear that the identification could not be mistaken,” thereby obviating the risk of undue suggestiveness (People v Boyer, 6 NY3d 427, 432 [2006]; see also People v Pacquette, 25 NY3d 575 [2015]).