Opinion
April 26, 1991
Appeal from the Wayne County Court, Parenti, J.
Present — Dillon, P.J., Boomer, Green, Balio and Davis, JJ.
Judgment unanimously affirmed. Memorandum: Defendant was convicted of three counts each of third degree criminal possession and sale of a controlled substance. It was not necessary for the People to call the evidence clerks who received the contraband at the laboratory (see, People v. Newman, 129 A.D.2d 742, lv denied 70 N.Y.2d 652). The People established a proper chain of custody of the contraband involved in each incident based upon the testimony of the only officers who handled the drugs and the forensic chemists who tested the evidence. This proof provided reasonable assurances of the identity and unchanged condition of the evidence (see, People v Julian, 41 N.Y.2d 340, 343; People v. Steiner, 148 A.D.2d 980, 981; People v. Gamble, 94 A.D.2d 960).
The court did not abuse its discretion in denying defense counsel's challenge for cause of two prospective jurors. Although each juror initially expressed strong feelings against drugs, each juror assured the court that she could be fair and impartial (see, CPL 270.20 [b]; People v. Colon, 71 N.Y.2d 410, 418-419, cert denied 487 U.S. 1239; People v. Williams, 63 N.Y.2d 882, 884-885; People v. Corbett, 68 A.D.2d 772, 778-779, affd 52 N.Y.2d 714). We have considered defendant's remaining contentions and find that none requires reversal.