People v. Napierala

Judgment unanimously reversed, on the law and facts, and a new trial granted. Memorandum: In this arson case, defense counsel neglected to turn over to the prosecution a report prepared by his expert witness until after the witness had taken the stand to testify. As a consequence, the trial court precluded the witness from testifying. CPL 240.45 (subd 2) requires the defense counsel to make this report available to the prosecutor before presentation of the defendant’s direct case. The sanctions for failure to do so are provided by CPL 240.70 (subd 1) and they include granting of a…