| People v Rutley |
| 2008 NY Slip Op 10399 [57 AD3d 1497] |
| December 31, 2008 |
| Appellate Division, Fourth Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Dwight Rutley,Appellant. |
—[*1] Michael C. Green, District Attorney, Rochester (Elizabeth Clifford of counsel), forrespondent.
Appeal from a judgment of the Monroe County Court (Stephen R. Sirkin, J., trial and sentencing;Patricia D. Marks, J., suppression hearing), rendered August 23, 2005. The judgment convicteddefendant, upon a jury verdict, of robbery in the first degree (three counts), robbery in the seconddegree (two counts), assault in the first degree and assault in the second degree.
It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.
Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him upon a jury verdict of, inter alia,three counts of robbery in the first degree (Penal Law § 160.15 [1], [2], [4]). Defendantcontends that County Court erred in curtailing defense counsel's cross-examination of a policeinvestigator during the Huntley hearing concerning the circumstances under which defendantmade his written statement (see generally People v Walker, 228 AD2d 798, 800 [1996],lv denied 88 NY2d 1072 [1996]). We note at the outset that the court did not in fact prohibitdefense counsel from cross-examining the investigator with respect to the circumstances under whichthe statement was made but, rather, merely required defense counsel to do so with relevant questions.Although those circumstances are indeed relevant to the issue to be determined at the Huntleyhearing, i.e., whether the statement was voluntarily made (see generally People v Huntley,15 NY2d 72 [1965]; People v Coggins, 234 AD2d 469, 470 [1996]), here the questionsposed by defense counsel concerned the content of the statement and not whether it was voluntarilymade. Thus, under the circumstances of this case, the court did not abuse its discretion in curtailingdefense counsel's cross-examination of the investigator (see generally People v Taylor, 214AD2d 757 [1995], lv denied 87 NY2d 851 [1995]). Finally, the sentence is not unduly harshor severe. Present—Hurlbutt, J.P., Centra, Fahey and Peradotto, JJ.