People v Mills
2008 NY Slip Op 01568 [48 AD3d 703]
February 19, 2008
Appellate Division, Second Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, April 16, 2008


The People of the State of New York, Respondent,
v
Alan Mills, Appellant.

[*1] Lynn W. L. Fahey, New York, N.Y. (Alexis A. Ascher of counsel), for appellant.

Charles J. Hynes, District Attorney, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Leonard Joblove and Phyllis Mintz of counsel), for respondent.

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Gerges, J.), rendered May 11, 2005, convicting him of manslaughter in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

The Supreme Court improperly admitted into evidence a photograph of the victim taken when he was alive, since this evidence was not relevant to a material fact to be proved at trial (see People v Stevens, 76 NY2d 833 [1990]; People v Thompson, 34 AD3d 852, 854 [2006]; People v Rodriguez, 1 AD3d 386 [2003]; People v Kershaw, 238 AD2d 523 [1997]). However, any error was harmless, as there was overwhelming evidence of the defendant's guilt, and no significant probability that the error contributed to his convictions (see People v Crimmins, 36 NY2d 230 [1975]; People v Jackson, 41 AD3d 1268, 1269 [2007]; People v Dove, 233 AD2d 751, 754 [1996]).

The sentence imposed was not excessive (see People v Suitte, 90 AD2d 80 [1982]). Ritter, J.P., Santucci, Covello and Carni, JJ., concur.