People v. Maschi, 49 N.Y.2d 785 (1980)
To preserve an issue for appellate review, a party must make a timely and specific objection at trial; a general objection is insufficient if the party later raises a different theory of error on appeal.
Summary
The New York Court of Appeals reversed the Appellate Division’s order and remitted the case for further consideration. The central issue was whether the prosecutor improperly impeached a defense witness. The Appellate Division believed the cross-examination was unfair and warranted a new trial. However, the Court of Appeals found that the defendant failed to make a timely and specific objection during the cross-examination, thus not preserving the issue for appellate review. The case was remitted to the Appellate Division to determine whether to exercise its discretionary power to review the claim despite the lack of proper objection.
Facts
During the trial, the defense called an eyewitness to the defendant’s arrest. The prosecutor cross-examined the witness about their failure to report exculpatory information to law enforcement or the District Attorney’s office prior to the trial testimony. The prosecutor asked approximately 19 questions on this topic without objection. Only after the 20th question did defense counsel offer a simple “objection.”
Procedural History
The trial court overruled the defense’s objection. The defendant was convicted. The Appellate Division reversed the conviction, holding that the cross-examination was improper and impinged on the defendant’s right to a fair trial. The People appealed to the New York Court of Appeals.
Issue(s)
Whether the defendant preserved the issue of improper cross-examination of a defense witness for appellate review by making a timely and specific objection at trial.
Holding
No, because the defendant failed to make a timely or specific objection to the prosecutor’s line of questioning, thereby failing to preserve the error, if any, for appellate review.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court of Appeals emphasized that to preserve an issue for appellate review, a party must register a timely and effective protest. Here, the defense counsel’s objection came only after a significant line of questioning had already occurred without objection. The court noted, “After the prosecutor, without objection, had asked some 19 questions relevant to the failure of the witness to come forward, when he asked the twentieth, capping question defense counsel interposed an unembellished ‘objection’ which was overruled.” Furthermore, the Court pointed out that when the objection was finally made, defense counsel did not assert the specific theory of error that he later advanced on appeal. The Court cited 22 NYCRR 604.1 [d] [4], which addresses the requirements for preserving objections. Because the issue was not properly preserved, the Court remitted the case to the Appellate Division to determine whether to exercise its discretionary power to review the defendant’s claim despite the lack of adequate protest. The court explicitly stated, “In this procedural posture, the case must be remitted to the Appellate Division for that court to determine whether to exercise its discretionary power to review defendant’s claim of reversible error in the absence of adequate protest and, if it so determines, then to rule thereon”.