People v. Wilkins, 6 N.Y.3d 771 (2005)
A prosecutor has a duty to provide the grand jury with sufficient information regarding potential witnesses requested by the defendant to allow the grand jury to meaningfully exercise its discretion in deciding whether to call those witnesses; however, a failure to do so requires dismissal of the indictment only if the integrity of the grand jury proceeding is impaired and prejudice to the defendant may result.
Summary
The New York Court of Appeals addressed whether a prosecutor’s failure to provide the grand jury with information about potential witnesses requested by the defendant impaired the integrity of the grand jury proceedings. The defendant, charged with murder, requested the grand jury to hear from several alibi witnesses. The prosecutor presented the request but withheld information about the potential testimony and contradictory statements from one witness. The Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of the indictment, holding that while the prosecutor erred, the error did not automatically mandate dismissal unless it impaired the integrity of the grand jury proceeding.
Facts
The defendant was charged with murder and weapon possession. A witness testified before the grand jury that the defendant was involved in an altercation and a subsequent shooting. The defendant’s lawyer requested the grand jury to hear testimony from seven witnesses who were with the defendant after the initial altercation, asserting they would provide an alibi. The prosecutor also had a police report indicating that one of the alibi witnesses initially corroborated the defendant’s alibi but later admitted to lying and being instructed to do so by the defendant.
Procedural History
The defendant was indicted by the grand jury. The Supreme Court dismissed the indictment with leave to re-present. The Appellate Division affirmed the Supreme Court’s decision. The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the Appellate Division’s decision, upholding the dismissal.
Issue(s)
Whether the prosecutor’s failure to provide the grand jury with information about the potential witnesses requested by the defendant impaired the integrity of the grand jury proceedings and required dismissal of the indictment.
Holding
Yes, because the prosecutor’s inaccurate and misleading answer to the grand juror’s question, coupled with withholding information about the witness’s potential testimony, impaired the integrity of the grand jury proceedings, warranting dismissal of the indictment.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court of Appeals reasoned that while CPL 190.50(6) grants the grand jury discretion to call witnesses requested by the defendant, the prosecutor’s actions deprived the grand jury of material information necessary to exercise that discretion meaningfully. The Court found that the prosecutor should have provided the grand jury with information regarding the witnesses’ potential testimony, including the fact that they were alibi witnesses and that one witness had recanted her initial statement. The court stated, “a prosecutor has an ethical responsibility to avoid misleading a grand jury.” The Court emphasized that the prosecutor’s failure to disclose relevant information, coupled with an “inaccurate and misleading answer” to the grand jury’s question about the witnesses, impaired the integrity of the proceeding. The Court distinguished this case from others where dismissal was not warranted, emphasizing the combined effect of withholding information and providing a misleading response. Judge R.S. Smith dissented, arguing that the prosecutor’s error was a good faith misjudgment and did not rise to the level of impairing the integrity of the grand jury proceeding, highlighting the high threshold required for dismissal under CPL 210.35(5) and citing *People v Darby* and *People v Calbud, Inc.*, further stating that, “The ‘integrity…is impaired’ test of CPL 210.35 (5) is not easy to meet. It ‘does not turn on mere flaw, error or skewing. The statutory test is very precise and very high.’”