Opinion
May 12, 1994
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Bronx County (Harold Silverman, J.).
Defendant's motion to suppress physical evidence was properly denied. We find that the People met their burden of coming forward (People v. Berrios, 28 N.Y.2d 361, 367) with evidence that the officer observed the firearm from a lawful vantage point outside the car (see, People v. Cruz, 34 N.Y.2d 362, 370), and that defendant failed to meet his burden of proving that the officer impermissibly leaned into the car's interior (see, People v. Aquino, 119 A.D.2d 464, 465-466; People v. Guzman, 116 A.D.2d 528).
Contrary to defendant's argument, the court did not restrict defendant's right to impeach a trial witness on the basis of his grand jury testimony. The court simply required, as a matter of form, that the witness be confronted with specific questions and answers, rather than with his failure to volunteer unsolicited information before the grand jury (People v. Bornholdt, 33 N.Y.2d 75, 88-89, cert denied sub nom. Victory v. New York, 416 U.S. 905).
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Ellerin, Ross, Asch and Tom, JJ.