| People v Ducret |
| 2012 NY Slip Op 03872 [95 AD3d 636] |
| May 17, 2012 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v Manuel Ducret, Appellant. |
—[*1] Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Patricia Curran of counsel), forrespondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Rena K. Uviller, J.), rendered April 1, 2009,convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of resisting arrest, and sentencing him to a term of oneyear, unanimously affirmed.
When the existence of an unrelated lawsuit against one of the police witnesses came to lightduring trial, the court properly exercised its discretion in denying defendant's request for amidtrial adjournment of unspecified length for the purpose of obtaining additional informationrelating to the lawsuit and its underlying facts (see e.g. People v Dunnell, 63 AD3d 535, 536 [2009], lv denied13 NY3d 796 [2009]). The unproven allegations against the officer were collateral (seePeople v Cordero, 306 AD2d 9, 10 [2003], lv denied 100 NY2d 619 [2003];People v Antonetty, 268 AD2d 254 [2000], lv denied 94 NY2d 945 [2000]), and therequested adjournment would have disrupted the trial and caused undue delay. Furthermore,defendant received a sufficient opportunity to cross-examine the officer about the underlyingfacts of the lawsuit.
The court also properly exercised its discretion in admitting medical evidence regarding theinjuries suffered by the officers who were injured in this incident, even though defendant was notindicted for assault. In the circumstances of the case, this evidence was highly probative becauseit demonstrated the extent and violent nature of defendant's resistance, and it directly refutedclaims made by defendant at trial. Concur—Saxe, J.P., Sweeny, Acosta, Freedman andRomán, JJ.