THE PEOPLE &C., RESPONDENT, v. DARRYL JETER, APPELLANT.
80 N.Y.2d 818, 600 N.E.2d 214, 587 N.Y.S.2d 583 (1992).
June 11, 1992
2 No. 117
Decided June 11, 1992
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This memorandum is uncorrected and subject to revision before
publication in the New York Reports.
Alan S. Axelrod, for Appellant.
Linda Breen, for Respondent.
MEMORANDUM:
The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed.
Defendant was convicted of murder in the second degree and criminal
possession of a weapon in the second degree for the shooting death of
Transit Police Officer Irma Lozada. On Septem- ber 21, 1984, defendant
snatched a gold rope chain from the neck of a subway passenger at the
Wilson Avenue subway station in Brooklyn. Officers Lozada and
Giambalvo chased defendant from the subway station and pursued him at
street level. Lozada caught up with defendant in a nearby vacant lot,
but was overpow- ered as she tried to apprehend him. Defendant then
allegedly shot Lozada twice in the head with her revolver. Geraldine
McGirt, who lived in an apartment overlooking the vacant lot, saw a
man whom she identified as defendant hovering over a white woman on
the ground. When McGirt turned away from the window she heard the two
gun shots. Defendant sold the gold chain to a local store owner who
recognized defendant as a frequent patron. Both McGirt and the
purchaser of the chain identified defendant in court.
At trial, two tape recorded statements by defendant were admitted into
evidence and played for the jury. Defendant does not contest their
admissibility on this appeal. In the first of the two statements,
defendant admitted stealing the chain, but denied having any role in
the shooting. Defendant claimed that he saw an acquaintance, Eric,
shoot a white woman after she pulled a gun on him. Upon further
questioning, defen- dant admitted that the gun was hidden underneath
the bureau in his bedroom. In the second taped statement, defendant
again admitted stealing the chain but added that after Eric had shot
the woman, Eric handed the gun to defendant and that he fired a shot
at the woman. Defendant claimed that he did not know whether that shot
SNIPPETS:
This memorandum is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the New York
Defendant was convicted of murder in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in
On Septem- ber 21, 1984, defendant snatched a gold rope chain from the neck of a subway
Geraldine McGirt, who lived in an apartment overlooking the vacant lot, saw a man whom she
Defendant does not contest their admissibility on this appeal.
Defendant claimed that he saw an acquaintance, Eric, shoot a white woman after she pulled a
In the second taped statement, defendant again admitted stealing the chain but added that
On rebuttal, the People offered the testimony of a voice analysis expert who stated that by
Although defendant had moved for a hearing on the scientific reliability of voice
On appeal, the Appellate Division concluded that it was error to admit the spectrographic
Defendant, however, does not contend that spectrographic evidence is inadmissible under New
Indeed, the parties agree that no appellate court in this State has previously addressed this
Defendant argues, rather, that because New York has not yet held that spectrographic evidence
The People contend that: 1) a trial court may rule on the general acceptance of a scientific
We do not agree that the court could properly have determined that voice spectrography is
New York courts are split on the issue of admissibility (see, People v Bein, supra; People v
The legal scholarship on the admissibility of voice spectrography is likewise conflicting
549 ).
We conclude that the trial court lacked a proper basis to admit the voice spectrographic
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