| People v Castro |
| 2014 NY Slip Op 05102 [119 AD3d 1377] |
| July 3, 2014 |
| Appellate Division, Fourth Department |
[*1]
| 1 The People of the State of New York, Respondent, vJuan Castro, Appellant. |
The Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Inc., Buffalo (Sherry A. Chase of counsel), fordefendant-appellant.
Frank A. Sedita, III, District Attorney, Buffalo (Nicholas T. Texido of counsel), forrespondent.
Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Erie County (M. William Boller,A.J.), rendered September 14, 2011. The judgment convicted defendant, upon his plea ofguilty, of murder in the second degree, attempted murder in the second degree andassault in the first degree.
It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from is unanimouslyaffirmed.
Memorandum: On appeal from a judgment convicting him upon his plea of guilty of,inter alia, murder in the second degree (Penal Law § 125.25 [1]), defendantcontends that Supreme Court erred in failing to follow the requirements of CPL article730 to determine whether he was competent to stand trial at the time his case waspresented to the grand jury (see CPL 730.30 [1]). We reject that contention. Therecord establishes that the court granted defense counsel's request for a "forensicexamination" of defendant by ordering only an informal psychological examination andnot by issuing an order of examination pursuant to CPL article 730. We conclude that"[t]he decision of the court to order an informal psychological examination was within itsdiscretion . . . and 'did not automatically require the court to issue an orderof examination or otherwise comply with CPL article 730' " (People vBrown, 277 AD2d 972, 972 [2000], lv denied 96 NY2d 732 [2001]; seePeople v Johnson, 252 AD2d 967, 968 [1998], affd 92 NY2d 976 [1998]; People v Ortiz, 46 AD3d1409, 1409 [2007], lv denied 10 NY3d 769 [2008]). We further concludethat the sentence is not unduly harsh or severe. Present—Scudder, P.J., Peradotto,Sconiers, Whalen and DeJoseph, JJ.