The People of the State of New York, Respondent v. Charles Smith, Appellant; the People of the State of New York…

Summary

The Court held that trial courts may not categorically bar cross‑examination of police witnesses about prior misconduct alleged in unrelated federal lawsuits when the allegations are relevant to credibility, and applied an abuse‑of‑discretion standard. It affirmed the Appellate Division’s orders in People v. Smith and People v. McGhee as harmless errors, reversed the order in People v. Ingram and remanded for a new trial, and clarified the procedural framework for such impeachment inquiries.