People v. Cotto

Because I believe that this Court cannot accept a decision by a trial court that it will not follow a rule of law announced by this Court, I dissent. In addition, the ruling by the trial court took away completely the right of the defendant to confront the primary witness against him in this proceeding.

On the night of November 28, 1992, Steven Davilla was shot to death on a street in Manhattan. The only living eyewitness to the crime at the time of the trial was Anthony Echevarria. From the time of the shooting in 1992 until a few days before the trial in 1996, the witness never identified…