People v. Fitzpatrick, 68 N.Y.2d 811 (1986)

A party may not impeach its own witness unless the witness’s testimony on a material fact tends to disprove the party’s position or affirmatively damages the party’s case.

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals addressed the issue of when a party is permitted to impeach its own witness. The Court held that the prosecution improperly impeached its own witness because the witness’s testimony, while not as strong as desired, did not affirmatively damage the prosecution’s case. However, the Court found the error harmless given the overwhelming evidence of the defendant’s guilt. This case clarifies the boundaries of CPL 60.35(1) regarding the permissible impeachment of one’s own witness and when such an error warrants reversal.

Facts

During the prosecution’s case-in-chief, the complainant testified that the defendant pulled a paper-wrapped object from a box, stuck it into the complainant’s side, and demanded money. The complainant stated that he believed the object “was something [defendant] could harm me with * * * A revolver, a shotgun. Something like that.” At trial, he said he never actually saw the object. However, the complainant had previously testified before the Grand Jury that he actually saw the barrel of a shotgun. Another victim-witness testified at trial that he observed the barrel of a shotgun.

Procedural History

The trial court allowed the People to impeach the complainant with his Grand Jury testimony. The defendant was convicted. The Appellate Division affirmed the conviction. The New York Court of Appeals granted review.

Issue(s)

Whether the trial court erred in allowing the People to impeach their own witness (the complainant) with his prior Grand Jury testimony.

Holding

Yes, because the complainant’s testimony did not affirmatively damage the People’s case, but the error was harmless.

Court’s Reasoning

The Court of Appeals reasoned that under CPL 60.35(1), a party may impeach its own witness only if the witness’s testimony on a material fact tends to disprove the party’s position or affirmatively damages the party’s case. The court emphasized that to establish first-degree robbery, the prosecution needed only to show that the defendant displayed what appeared to be a revolver or shotgun. It was not necessary to show that anyone actually saw one. The Court cited People v. Baskerville, 60 NY2d 374, 381. The complainant’s trial testimony that he felt something that could have been a gun, while not as strong as his Grand Jury testimony, did not affirmatively disprove that the defendant displayed what appeared to be a firearm. Therefore, it was error to allow the impeachment. However, the Court concluded that this error was harmless in light of the “overwhelming evidence of defendant’s guilt,” citing People v. Fuller, 50 NY2d 628, 638 and People v. Crimmins, 36 NY2d 230, 242. The Court stated that the test for harmless error is whether there is a significant probability that the jury would have acquitted the defendant had the error not occurred. Because another witness did testify to seeing the shotgun, and the complainant testified that what was stuck in his side felt like a gun, such error was harmless.