| People v Snow |
| 2019 NY Slip Op 01680 [170 AD3d 1276] |
| March 7, 2019 |
| Appellate Division, Third Department |
[*1]
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v Lorenzo J. Snow, Appellant. |
Tracy Donovan-Laughlin, Oneonta, for appellant.
Weeden A. Wetmore, District Attorney, Elmira (Jordan J. Yorke of counsel), forrespondent.
Clark, J. Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Chemung County (Hayden, J.),rendered December 12, 2016, upon a verdict convicting defendant of the crime of assault in thefirst degree.
In August 2015, defendant was indicted on charges of attempted murder in the second degreeand assault in the first degree based on allegations that he intentionally and repeatedly stabbedthe victim with a knife, thereby inflicting multiple stab wounds. Following a jury trial, at whichdefendant pursued a justification defense, defendant was acquitted of attempted murder in thesecond degree, but found guilty of assault in the first degree. He was subsequently sentenced to aprison term of 20 years, followed by five years of postrelease supervision. Defendant nowappeals, primarily challenging the sufficiency of County Court's response to a jury note.
During the jury's deliberations, County Court received a jury note requesting "[t]he definitionof both counts of the charges so [it could] review exactly." Upon receiving the note, CountyCourt read its contents verbatim to counsel on the record, outside the presence of the jury,thereby satisfying its "core responsibility" under CPL 310.30 to provide counsel with meaningfulnotice of the specific content of the jury's request (People v Kisoon, 8 NY3d 129, 134 [2007]; see People v Silva, 24 NY3d 294,298-299 [2014]; People v O'Rama, 78 NY2d 270, 277 [1991]). The court then proposedto counsel that it reread the definitions of the charged counts to the jury, to which defensecounsel affirmatively stated that he had "[n]o objection." County Court thereafter read the note tothe jury and stated that, after the lunch break, it would "read . . . the definitions ofthe crimes that [were] submitted to [it]" for deliberation. Again, defendant did not object.Following the recess, County Court read the charges for attempted murder in the second degreeand assault in the first degree, each of which included the element that "defendant was notjustified in his actions." County Court did not reread the justification charge, which defendantnow asserts was in error. However, in the absence of a timely objection, defendant's argument isunpreserved (see People v Kadarko,14 NY3d 426, 429-430 [2010]; People v LaDuke, 140 AD3d 1467, 1469 [2016]; People v Keener, 138 AD3d 1162,1165 [2016], lv denied 27 NY3d 1134 [2016]).
Nevertheless, we will address defendant's challenge to the extent that he alleges that defensecounsel provided him with ineffective assistance by failing to request that the justification chargebe included in County Court's response to the jury note. A reading of the justification charge wasnot necessarily required by the jury note and, given that the instructions for both charged countsincluded the element that defendant not be "justified in his actions," County Court's response tothe jury note was meaningful (seePeople v Santi, 3 NY3d 234, 248-249 [2004]; People v Almodovar, 62 NY2d126, 131-132 [1984]; People vBekka, 159 AD3d 578, 578 [2018], lv denied 31 NY3d 1078 [2018]; People v Stokes, 141 AD3d 1032,1034 [2016], lv denied 28 NY3d 1075 [2016]; People v Rogers, 94 AD3d 1246, 1249 [2012], lv denied 19NY3d 977 [2012]). Further, our review of the record reveals that defense counsel engaged inappropriate pretrial motion practice, conducted thorough direct and cross-examinations,presented a coherent defense and, overall, provided defendant with meaningful representation (see People v Hinojoso-Soto, 161 AD3d1541, 1546-1547 [2018], lv denied 32 NY3d 938 [2018]; People v Rogers,94 AD3d at 1249). Accordingly, we affirm defendant's judgment of conviction.
Garry, P.J., Mulvey, Aarons and Rumsey, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgment isaffirmed.