People v. Tapia

Judgment of conviction reversed on the law, on the facts and in the exercise of discretion, and a new trial ordered. Detective Martin was a material witness who in fairness to all parties should have been present at the trial. There was a material discrepancy between the testimony of the complaining witness at the trial as to the time and place of the alleged occurrence, his description of the assailants, the documentary evidence as to certain events, and his testimony as to what he allegedly told Detective Martin. There was a claim that Detective Martin misunderstood the complainant because…