New York Court of Appeals, 1993

People v. Ferguson

New York Court of Appeals · Decided November 23, 1993 · Kaye and Judges Simons, Titone, Hancock, Jr., Bellacosa, Smith and Levine Concur

626 N.E.2d 930; 82 N.Y.2d 837; 606 N.Y.S.2d 145; 1993 N.Y. LEXIS 4296 (North Eastern Reporter, Second Series)

Cases that cite this one

16 later published cases cite this decision.

Mills v. State (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 2018)
People v. Murphy (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2019)
People v. Aguilar (Walter) (Appellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York 2020)
People v. Houston (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2011)
People v. Avila (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2010)
People v. White (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2010)
People v. Wilson (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2008)
People v. Rodriguez (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2008)
People v. Thomas (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2004)
People v. Greenwood (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2002)
People v. Greene (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2002)
People v. Dhan (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2000)
People v. Vasquez (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2000)
People v. Murphy (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1997)
People v. Burgos (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1996)
People v. Richard (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1996)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed.

Where no formal demonstration of the defendant’s "handedness” had been presented during trial, the prosecutor’s remark to the jury during summation — "[y]ou have been here through the course of the trial and [have] seen [defendant] sitting there. Defendant takes notes with his left hand”— constituted an improper reference to facts not in evidence (see, People v Paperno, 54 NY2d 294, 300-301). Nonetheless, the court’s curative instruction, which directed the jurors to disregard the note-taking comment and clearly indicated that no evidence had been presented concerning whether defendant was left or right handed, was sufficient to ameliorate any prejudice and to ensure that defendant received a fair trial (People v Barnes, 80 NY2d 867, 868; see also, People v Ashwal, 39 NY2d 105, 111).

Chief Judge Kaye and Judges Simons, Titone, Hancock, Jr., Bellacosa, Smith and Levine concur.

On review of submissions pursuant to section 500.4 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals (22 NYCRR 500.4), order affirmed in a memorandum.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.