In People v. Evans (94 NY2d 499, 727 N.E.2d 1232, 706 N.Y.S.2d 678 [2000]), the Court of Appeals noted that, while "the law of the case" phrase appeared in New York's decisional law over the years, "it has not always meant the same thing [citations omitted]." Id. at 503. The Court cautioned that the law of the case doctrine, when applied in a criminal trial, "does not contemplate that every trial ruling is binding on retrial," and that "distinctions must be made," particularly with respect to evidentiary rulings, which "will normally not be binding in a subsequent trial." Id. at 504-505.