PEOPLE v. WILLIAMS


56 N.Y.2d 236 (1982)

The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Kenneth Williams, Appellant.

Court of Appeals of the State of New York.

Decided May 20, 1982.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Thomas R. Legenhausen and William E. Hellerstein for appellant.

Mario Merola, District Attorney (Jay Shapiro and Steven R. Kartagener of counsel), for respondent.

Judges JASEN, GABRIELLI, JONES, WACHTLER and FUCHSBERG concur; Judge MEYER taking no part.


Chief Judge COOKE.

The extent to which the prosecution should be allowed to use prior convictions to impeach the credibility of a defendant who testifies is a matter that is generally left to the discretion of the trial court. The trial court may not, however, abdicate its responsibility by failing to exercise this discretion. Here, the Appellate Division was correct in its determination that no such discretion...

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