People v. Abney

This appeal involves a core issue: whether the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to allow an expert to testify about factors that affect reliability of eyewitness identifications in light of the Court of Appeals’ decision in People v LeGrand (8 NY3d 449 [2007]). The trial evidence shows that on June 2, 2005, at approximately 3:20 p.m., 13-year-old Farhana U. was accosted on a staircase at the Delancey Street subway station in lower Manhattan. A curved knife was held to her neck and, when she refused to surrender the necklace she wore, the necklace was ripped from her. While…