People v Lyons

Holding The court affirmed the murder conviction, rejecting claims regarding witness identification and confrontation rights. It held that the admission of a witness’s prior testimony was proper because the defendant procured the witness’s unavailability through misconduct.

The court’s words

the court properly determined after a Sirois hearing that the People established by the requisite clear and convincing evidence that defendant engaged in misconduct aimed at least in part at preventing the witness from testifying

2026 NY Slip Op 04663, at the official text

the court properly inferred from the timing and substance of the conversations that the friend's primary motive was to protect defendant, his right-hand man

2026 NY Slip Op 04663, at the official text

there is a valid line of reasoning and permissible inferences from which a rational jury could have found the elements of the crime proved beyond a reasonable doubt

2026 NY Slip Op 04663, at the official text