People v. Ferrara

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Schenectady County (Stroebel, Jr., J.), rendered June 21, 1983, upon a verdict convicting defendant of the crime of assault in the second degree.

Defendant’s conviction arose out of a fracas occurring on the sidewalk in front of a Schenectady bar in which he was identified as having struck the victim from behind with a hammer and then threatening the victim and an eyewitness with the same weapon. His first assignment of error relates to the trial court’s Sandoval ruling. The court allowed the prosecution to cross-examine defendant regarding his…