People v. Alexander

OPINION OF THE COURT

Rosenblatt, J.

In the case before us the prosecutor, in summation, urged the jury to give added credit to a witness’ identification of defendant because the witness and the defendant were both African-American. We hold that under the circumstances presented the summation was improper. Because the error was not harmless, we reverse defendant’s conviction and order a new trial.

At approximately 2:30 a.m. on January 25, 1997, a crowd of individuals was involved in an altercation on a public street in Albany. At the time, Andrew Washington, an off-duty employee of the Rennselaer…