People v. Payne

Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him upon a jury verdict of, inter alia, assault in the first degree (Penal Law § 120.10 [1]). We agree with defendant that Supreme Court erred in denying his challenge for cause with respect to a prospective juror and that reversal is required based on that error. We note at the outset that defendant thereafter exhausted his peremptory challenges, and thus his contention is properly before us (see CPL 270.20 [2]; People v Nicholas, 98 NY2d 749, 752 [2002]).

After initially providing appropriate responses to questions posed by the court…