While it is axiomatic that appellate courts will give great deference to credibility determinations made at a suppression hearing, on occasion an appellate court will reverse a lower court’s ruling on the issue of credibility. In People v. Nettles, 2020 N.Y. Slip Op 04776 (2d Dep’t 2020), an appellate court has, for the first time, reversed a credibility determination made at a Darden hearing.
In the past, appellate courts have rejected a hearings court’s determination when it lacks an evidentiary basis in the record, or when the hearing court has placed undue weight on some evidence and too little weight on contrary evidence. See, e.g., People v. Wideman, 121 A.D.3d 1514 (4th Dep’t 2014). Courts have also reversed when a lower court improperly discredited police testimony, People v. Tempton, 192 A.D.2d 369 (1st Dep’t 1993), or on the other hand, improperly credited police testimony, People v. Carmona, 233 AD.2d 142 (1st Dep’t 1996).
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