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People v. Nelson

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Feb 16, 1993
190 A.D.2d 823 (N.Y. App. Div. 1993)

Opinion

February 16, 1993

Appeal from the County Court, Westchester County (Scarpino, J.).


Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

The defendant contends that the People failed to prove that he possessed 1/8 of an ounce or more of a substance containing cocaine, as is required to sustain a conviction for criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree. Viewing the evidence adduced at trial in the light most favorable to the People (see, People v Contes, 60 N.Y.2d 620), we find that it was legally sufficient to support the conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. Moreover, resolution of issues of credibility, as well as the weight to be accorded to the evidence presented, are primarily questions to be determined by the trier of fact, who saw and heard the witnesses (see, People v Gaimari, 176 N.Y. 84, 94). His determination should be accorded great weight on appeal and should not be disturbed unless clearly unsupported by the record (see, People v Garafolo, 44 A.D.2d 86, 88). Moreover, upon the exercise of our factual review power, we are satisfied that the verdict of guilt was not against the weight of the evidence (see, CPL 470.15).

It was for the trier of fact to determine whether the People's forensic chemist had adequately weighed the contents of the 21 vials and whether her opinion was entitled to be credited (see, People v Argro, 37 N.Y.2d 929, 930). Where, as here, the defendant does not point to any serious flaw in the chemist's analysis, but merely questions a possible discrepancy with a test subsequently performed by the defendant's expert, no basis exists for disturbing the trial court's finding (see, People v Hull, 162 A.D.2d 550, 551). Thompson, J.P., Rosenblatt, Lawrence and Miller, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

People v. Nelson

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Feb 16, 1993
190 A.D.2d 823 (N.Y. App. Div. 1993)
Case details for

People v. Nelson

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. KARY DAVID NELSON…

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

Date published: Feb 16, 1993

Citations

190 A.D.2d 823 (N.Y. App. Div. 1993)
593 N.Y.S.2d 836

Citing Cases

People v. Hill

Although we observed in Argro that the expert's opinion was received without objection, we also noted that…