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People v. Vega

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
May 18, 1992
183 A.D.2d 864 (N.Y. App. Div. 1992)

Opinion

May 18, 1992

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Douglass, J.).


Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

The defendant's conviction was based on the testimony of police officers who participated in the "buy-and-bust" operation which resulted in his arrest. Since the defendant's motion for a trial order of dismissal failed to refer to any specific deficiency in the evidence presented by the prosecution, his present challenge to the legal sufficiency of the evidence has not been preserved for appellate review (see, CPL 470.05; People v. Bynum, 70 N.Y.2d 858; People v. Udzinski, 146 A.D.2d 245). In any event, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution (see, People v. Contes, 60 N.Y.2d 620), we find that it was legally sufficient to establish the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 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 (CPL 470.15).

Similarly unavailing is the defendant's contention that he was denied a fair trial by an alleged improper comment made by the prosecutor during the defense counsel's summation. The record wholly fails to support the defendant's speculative claim that the remark, apparently made while the prosecutor was en route to a sidebar conference, was heard by anyone other than the defense counsel. In any event, even if it is assumed that the remark was overheard by one or more members of the jury, we find that the nature of the comment was so innocuous as to pose no risk of prejudice to the defendant (see, People v. Roopchand, 107 A.D.2d 35, affd 65 N.Y.2d 837; People v. Geddes, 134 A.D.2d 279), and any perceived error was harmless in view of the overwhelming evidence of his guilt (see, People v. Crimmins, 36 N.Y.2d 230; People v Dewindt, 156 A.D.2d 706). Bracken, J.P., Sullivan, Eiber and Pizzuto, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

People v. Vega

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
May 18, 1992
183 A.D.2d 864 (N.Y. App. Div. 1992)
Case details for

People v. Vega

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. MIGUEL VEGA, Appellant

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

Date published: May 18, 1992

Citations

183 A.D.2d 864 (N.Y. App. Div. 1992)
584 N.Y.S.2d 105

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