Summary
affirming charge similar to Cromwell's where the trial "court charged the jurors that the Uustification] defense was available if they found that the defendant reasonably believed that the victim was using or was about to use deadly physical force against the defendant. . . . The court also indicated that the jurors should focus on what this particular defendant believed about the imminence of his danger."
Summary of this case from Cromwell v. KeaneOpinion
April 17, 1995
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Rienzi, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant contends that the trial court's charge with respect to justification was improper because it did not require the jury to consider the circumstances confronting the defendant from his perspective. Because the defendant did not object to the charge as delivered or request supplemental instructions regarding the subjective belief about his circumstances, he failed to preserve the issue for appellate review (see, CPL 470.05; People v Noor, 177 A.D.2d 517). In any event, the claim is without merit. The court followed the pattern jury instructions verbatim (see, 1 CJI[NY] 35.15 [2] [a], at 867-873). The court charged the jurors that the defense was available if they found that the defendant reasonably believed that the victim was using or was about to use deadly physical force against the defendant (see, Penal Law § 35.15 [a]). The court also indicated that the jurors should focus on what this particular defendant believed about the imminence of his danger (see, People v Wesley, 76 N.Y.2d 555). Further, the court properly instructed the jurors to figuratively stand in the shoes of the defendant and see how the circumstances appeared to him. The court properly instructed the jury on the material legal principles (see, People v Martin, 168 A.D.2d 221). Mangano, P.J., Bracken, Balletta and O'Brien, JJ., concur.