People v Nguyen
2009 NY Slip Op 06924 [66 AD3d 1367]
October 2, 2009
Appellate Division, Fourth Department
As corrected through Wednesday, December 9, 2009


The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v QuanNguyen, Also Known as David Nguyen, Appellant.

[*1]Frank H. Hiscock Legal Aid Society, Syracuse (Mary P. Davison of counsel), fordefendant-appellant.

William J. Fitzpatrick, District Attorney, Syracuse (James P. Maxwell of counsel), forrespondent.

Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Onondaga County (John J. Brunetti, A.J.),rendered July 17, 2006. The judgment convicted defendant, upon a nonjury verdict, ofmanslaughter in the second degree.

It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.

Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him following a nonjury trialof one count of manslaughter in the second degree (Penal Law § 125.15 [1]) and twocounts of endangering the welfare of a child (§ 260.10 [1], [2]).

Defendant failed to preserve for our review his contention that Supreme Court erred inadmitting certain expert medical testimony presented by the People on the ground that thetestimony lacked a proper foundation or was speculative (see CPL 470.05 [2]) and, inany event, that contention lacks merit (see generally Prince, Richardson on Evidence§ 7-315 [Farrell 11th ed]).

Contrary to defendant's further contention, viewing the evidence in light of the elements ofthe crimes in this nonjury trial (seePeople v Danielson, 9 NY3d 342, 349 [2007]), we conclude that the verdict is notagainst the weight of the evidence (see generally People v Bleakley, 69 NY2d 490, 495[1987]). The court was presented with conflicting expert testimony concerning the cause of deathof the victim, and the court was entitled to credit the expert testimony presented by the People(see People v Fields, 16 AD3d142 [2005], lv denied 4 NY3d 886 [2005]; see generally People v Miller, 91NY2d 372, 380 [1998]). Finally, the sentence is not unduly harsh or severe.Present—Martoche, J.P., Smith, Peradotto, Carni and Green, JJ.


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