Opinion
December 12, 1994
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Douglass, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant's contention that he was denied effective assistance of counsel is without merit. "[W]hen reviewing a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, care should be taken `to avoid both confusing true ineffectiveness [of counsel] with mere losing tactics and according undue significance to retrospective analysis' ([People v Baldi, 54 N.Y.2d 137], at 146 [emphasis added])" (People v Flores, 84 N.Y.2d 184, 186-187). At the trial, the defense counsel pursued a reasonable strategy in attempting to gain an acquittal on both murder counts in a case where the evidence of the defendant's guilt was overwhelming and, in fact, succeeded with respect to the intentional murder charge. That his success was only partial cannot be equated with true ineffectiveness (see, People v Cesario, 157 A.D.2d 795). We conclude that the evidence presented at the trial, the law, and the circumstances of this case, when viewed in totality and as of the time of the representation, reveal that the defendant was provided with meaningful representation (see, People v Satterfield, 66 N.Y.2d 796; People v Baldi, 54 N.Y.2d 137, 147, supra).
The sentence imposed was not excessive (see, People v Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80). Lawrence, J.P., Santucci, Altman and Goldstein, JJ., concur.