People v. Fernandez

In this child sex abuse case, defendant Marcos Fernandez sought to introduce testimony at trial that complainant, his young niece, had a poor reputation in their family for veracity. The trial court barred the evidence for lack of a proper foundation based, as relevant here, on its determination that the family was not a reliable community for purposes of establishing a reputation. Following defendant’s conviction on three counts, the Appellate Division reversed and ordered a new trial (74 AD3d 1379 [2010]), concluding that defendant was entitled to present such evidence, and a majority of…