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Matter of Melinda C

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Jun 16, 1997
240 A.D.2d 571 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)

Opinion

June 16, 1997

Appeal from the Family Court, Queens County (Fitzmaurice, J.).


Ordered that the appeal from the decision dated November 20, 1995, is dismissed, as no appeal lies from a decision ( see Schicchi v. Green Constr. Corp., 100 A.D.2d 509); and it is further,

Ordered that the order of disposition dated December 19, 1995, is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.

Contrary to the appellant's contentions, the court did not err in denying those branches of the appellant's motion which were to suppress physical evidence and identification testimony without conducting a hearing. The claim that the arresting officer had an inadequate description of her is insufficient to establish that a hearing was required to determine the propriety of her arrest ( see, People v. Berdecia, 223 A.D.2d 444). Nor was she entitled to a hearing to challenge the undercover officer's drive-by identification, which was made within minutes of her arrest ( cf., People v. Wharton, 74 N.Y.2d 921; People v. Grullon, 177 A.D.2d 398; People v. Stanton, 108 A.D.2d 688, 689).

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the presentment agency ( cf., People v. Contes, 60 N.Y.2d 620; Matter of Andre L., 207 A.D.2d 348), we find that it was legally sufficient to establish the appellant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. While "mere presence at the scene of the crime is insufficient to establish guilt" ( Matter of Andre L., supra, at 348), a court is not required to suspend its judgment and assume that the appellant was innocently standing with two other individuals who were selling drugs when she requested that the undercover officer give her the money ( cf., People v. Hill, 198 A.D.2d 100, 101). Moreover, the appellant was not denied a fair hearing, as the agency established that the heroin purchased during the transaction was the heroin entered into evidence.

The appellant's remaining contentions are without merit.

O'Brien, J.P., Thompson, Pizzuto and Friedmann, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Matter of Melinda C

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Jun 16, 1997
240 A.D.2d 571 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)
Case details for

Matter of Melinda C

Case Details

Full title:In the Matter of MELINDA C., a Person Alleged to be a Juvenile Delinquent…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: Jun 16, 1997

Citations

240 A.D.2d 571 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)
659 N.Y.S.2d 69

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