People v. Gissendanner, 48 N.Y.2d 543 (1979), was an important decision by the Court of Appeals of New York that placed limits on the ability of a defendant to subpoena personnel records of police officers.[1]
| People v. Gissendanner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | New York Court of Appeals |
| Full case name | The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Vida Gissendanner, Appellant. |
| Argued | November 13 1979 |
| Decided | December 17 1979 |
| Citation | 48 N.Y.2d 543 |
| Holding | |
| Affirmed the judgment of conviction | |
Background
editUndercover police officers in Irondequoit, New York, conducted a drug sting and arrested Vida Gissendanner.[2] Gissendanner disputed the events described by officers and counsel attempted to subpoena their records for cross-examination, which the court refused to sign based on a lack of a "factual basis" since such records are considered confidential unless consent is given by the officer or a court order. A jury found Gissendanner guilty of selling cocaine and she received a one year to life sentence.[3]
Decision
editThe case established a burden of relevance for defendants wishing to access police records to confront witnesses and find exculpatory evidence.[4] The court ruled that "there is no compulsion when requests to examine records are motivated by nothing more than impeachment of witnesses' general credibility".[5]
A defense counsel request to access police records is now known as a Gissendanner motion.[2]
References
edit- ^ Text of People v. Magliore is available from: Findlaw
- ^ a b Taibbi, Matt (2014). The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap. New York: Spiegel & Grau. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-8129-9342-4.
- ^ Text of People v. Gissendanner 65 A.D.2d 938 (1978) is available from: Findlaw
- ^ Yaryura, Adriana (1994). "CPLR 4510: New York Legislature Adopts Statute Permitting Non-Disclosure of Confidential Communications Between Certified Rape Crisis Counselors and Rape Victims". St. John's Law Review, 68(3): 794-795.
- ^ As cited in Kliegman, Michelle (2010) "County Court of New York, Westchester County - People v. Zherka[permanent dead link]". Touro Law Review, 26(3): 885-887.
External links
edit- Text of People v. Gissendanner is available from: Leagle