The People of the State of New York v. Thomas Francis Byrnes

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the Appellate Division, holding that the photographs were properly authenticated and provided sufficient corroboration for the rape, sodomy, and incest convictions, that the defendant's removal from the courtroom during the victim's testimony was proper and did not violate his Sixth or Fourteenth Amendment confrontation rights, and that the trial court's discretionary determination of the child witness's competency without counsel was constitutionally permissible.