THE PEOPLE &C., RESPONDENT, v. RICHARD ANGELO, APPELLANT.
88 N.Y.2d 217, 666 N.E.2d 1333, 644 N.Y.S.2d 460 (1996).
March 28, 1996
2 No. 64(1996 NY Int. 61)
Decided March 28, 1996
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This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication
in the New York Reports.
Jonathan C. Scott, for Appellant.
Michael J. Miller, for Respondent.
New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, amicus curiae.
LEVINE, J.:
Defendant was charged with multiple counts of second degree murder
(depraved indifference murder) and assault in connection with the
unauthorized injection of seven patients with a neuromuscular blocking
agent at the hospital at which he was employed as a nurse, resulting
in the deaths of six of them from respiratory failure. At trial,
defendant did not deny that he had engaged in such conduct, but
attempted to demonstrate that he suffered from a mental illness which
precluded him from forming the mental state required for the charged
offenses -- awareness of a grave risk of death of the patients by
reason of his injections. To that end, defendant presented two
psychological experts who testified that he suffered from a
dissociative disorder which prevented him from recognizing, and thus
consciously disregarding, the risks associated with his conduct of
injecting patients with an agent that caused respiratory distress. The
experts testified that defendant had feelings of extreme inadequacy
and sought to create a situation in which he could prove his
competence; as an emergency medical technician he had once
successfully resuscitated a patient in respiratory distress and when
overcome by self-doubt in his responsible position as Charge Nurse,
defendant injected patients with an agent that would cause respiratory
distress so that he could then participate in the successful heroic
efforts to save them. His dissociative disorder, they testified,
caused defendant to be unaware that the injections he had given these
patients was the cause of their potential respiratory failure and
ultimate deaths.
Before Dr. Schwartz, defendant's psychiatric expert, testified,
defense counsel sought a ruling from the trial court that Dr. Schwartz
SNIPPETS:
THE PEOPLE &C., RESPONDENT, v. RICHARD ANGELO, APPELLANT.
This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the New York
New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers,
Defendant was charged with multiple counts of second degree murder and assault in connection
At trial, defendant did not deny that he had engaged in such conduct, but attempted to
To that end, defendant presented two psychological experts who testified that he suffered
The experts testified that defendant had feelings of extreme inadequacy and sought to create
Before Dr. Schwartz, defendant's psychiatric expert, testified, defense counsel sought a
According to defense counsel, it was relevant to Dr. Schwartz's diagnosis of defendant that
The trial court ruled that Dr. Schwartz would not be permitted to testify to his reliance on
Defense counsel objected to the court's ruling but stated that Dr. Schwartz would still be
A Judge of this Court granted defendant leave to appeal, and we now affirm.
Defendant argues that County Court erred in prohibiting Dr. Schwartz from testifying that his
Defendant also relies on the common-law rule that under certain circumstances an expert may
These exceptions thus provide no support for defendant's position because they specifically
Auth., 63 NY2d, at 726, supra (to meet the "professional reliability" exception, the
The record demonstrates that defendant did not request a hearing to establish the current
defense counsel referred to a hearing in the most ambivalent terms stating: "I would not
Defendant also argues on appeal that County Court erred in submitting a verdict sheet to the
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