| People v Rivera |
| 2011 NY Slip Op 02167 [82 AD3d 1590] |
| March 25, 2011 |
| Appellate Division, Fourth Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v BenjaminRivera, Appellant. (Appeal No. 1.) |
—[*1] Benjamin Rivera, defendant-appellant pro se. Michael C. Green, District Attorney, Rochester (Leslie E. Swift of counsel), forrespondent.
Appeal, by permission of a Justice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in theFourth Judicial Department, from an order of the Monroe County Court (Alex R. Renzi, J.),entered March 14, 2007. The order denied defendant's motions pursuant to CPL 440.10 to vacatethe judgment convicting defendant of murder in the second degree.
It is hereby ordered that the order so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.
Memorandum: In appeal No. 1, defendant appeals from an order of County Court (Renzi, J.)denying his CPL 440.10 motions to vacate the judgment of County Court (Wisner, J. [hereafter,trial court]) in appeal No. 2, convicting him upon a jury verdict of murder in the second degree(Penal Law § 125.25 [3]). We note at the outset that, following our prior affirmance of thatjudgment convicting defendant of murder (People v Rivera, 170 AD2d 962 [1991], lvdenied 77 NY2d 999 [1991]), defendant moved for a writ of error coram nobis. Hecontended that he was denied effective assistance of appellate counsel because defense counselfailed to raise an issue on direct appeal that would have resulted in reversal, i.e., that the trialcourt's jury instruction distorted the "course and furtherance" element of felony murder. Weconcluded that the issue may have merit and granted the motion (People v Rivera, 52 AD3d 1290[2008]), and we thus now consider de novo defendant's appeal from the judgment in appeal No.2.
Addressing first appeal No. 2, we affirm the judgment. Defendant contends that, in its juryinstructions, the trial court misstated an element of felony murder such that reversal is required.The felony murder statute provides in relevant part that "[a] person is guilty of murder in thesecond degree when . . . [, a]cting either alone or with one or more other persons, hecommits or attempts to commit [an enumerated felony], and, in the course of and infurtherance of such crime or of immediate flight therefrom, he, or another participant, ifthere be any, causes the death of a person other than one of the participants" (Penal Law §125.25 [3] [emphasis added]). In its main charge and its supplemental instructions, the trial courterroneously used the phrase "in the course of or in furtherance of such crime," therebyreplacing the term "and" with[*2]"or." Defendant, however, failedto preserve that contention for our review because he never objected to the error (see People v Griffin, 48 AD3d1233, 1236 [2008], lv denied 10 NY3d 840 [2008]). Defendant further contends thatthe trial court violated CPL 310.30 by responding to a question from a juror without firstconsulting with counsel. Because defense counsel was aware of both the inquiry from the jurorand the trial court's response thereto, she was required to object to the trial court's procedure inresponding to the question in order to preserve defendant's contention for our review, and shefailed to do so (see People vRamirez, 15 NY3d 824, 825-826 [2010]; People v Peller, 8 AD3d 1123, 1123-1124 [2004], lv denied3 NY3d 679 [2004]). We decline to exercise our power to review those contentions as a matter ofdiscretion in the interest of justice (see CPL 470.15 [6] [a]). Viewing the evidence inlight of the elements of the crime as charged to the jury (see People v Danielson, 9 NY3d 342, 349 [2007]), we rejectdefendant's contention that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence (see generallyPeople v Bleakley, 69 NY2d 490, 495 [1987]).
Addressing next appeal No. 1, we conclude that County Court properly denied defendant'smotions seeking to vacate the judgment of conviction in appeal No. 2. Contrary to defendant'scontention, he did not receive ineffective assistance of counsel based on defense counsel's failureto call an accomplice as a witness to testify at trial. Defense counsel's alternative decision torequest a missing witness instruction with respect to that witness was a legitimate trial strategy(see People v McCrone, 12 AD3d848, 850 [2004], lv denied 4 NY3d 800 [2005]; see generally People vBenevento, 91 NY2d 708, 712-713 [1998]), and the trial court in fact granted that request.Also contrary to defendant's contention, there was no Brady violation based on thePeople's alleged failure to provide him with that accomplice's plea colloquy. "The People are notrequired to turn over evidence where, as here, defendant 'knew of, or should reasonably haveknown of, the evidence and its exculpatory nature' " (People v Singleton, 1 AD3d 1020, 1021 [2003], lv denied 1NY3d 580 [2003]). Finally, County Court properly denied the motions to the extent that theysought to vacate the judgment on the ground of newly discovered evidence, i.e., a writtenstatement by another accomplice. The motions, which were made almost three years after thewritten statement was issued, were not made with the requisite due diligence after the discoveryof that evidence (see People v Kandekore, 300 AD2d 318, 319 [2002], lv denied99 NY2d 616 [2003], cert denied 540 US 896 [2003]). We note in any event that thestatement, which contradicted the accomplice's prior statement to the police, was inherentlyunreliable recantation testimony and thus was insufficient by itself to warrant vacatur of thejudgment (see People v Thibodeau, 267 AD2d 952, 953 [1999], lv denied 95NY2d 805 [2000]; People v Jackson, 238 AD2d 877, 878-879 [1997], lv denied90 NY2d 859 [1997]). Present—Centra, J.P., Carni, Lindley, Green and Gorski, JJ.