People State New York v. Elliot Shapiro

After trial by jury, defendant Elliot Shapiro was convicted on a consolidated indictment of promoting prostitution in the first degree and endangering the welfare of a minor (under Indictment No. 117), sodomy in the second degree (under Indictment No. 118), and 11 counts of sodomy in the third degree (under Indictment No. 143). In his appeal to us he claims, in the main (1) that, in the circumstances of the case, it was an abuse of discretion as a matter of law for the trial court to have denied his motion to sever Indictment No. 143 from the trial of the other two; (2) that his due process rights were violated when, while his three prospective witnesses were considering whether to persist in the invocation of their privilege against self incrimination, the District Attorney openly, repeatedly and unqualifiedly advised them that testimony on behalf of the defendant would subject them to prosecution for perjury; and (3) that the eavesdropping orders secured by the police were invalid because they exceeded the bounds set by the governing Federal wiretapping statute (US Code, tit 18, § 2516). We find merit in each of these contentions and, therefore, reverse defendants conviction and order a new trial.