Opinion
September 30, 1997
Appeal from Monroe County Court, Bristol, J.
Present — Denman, P.J., Pine, Balio, Boehm and Fallon, JJ.
There is no merit to defendant's contention that the court erred in admitting into evidence a book containing the New Testament and some psalms from the Bible. The book was one of several items found on the victim's person at the time of the shooting, and all of the items, including two baggies of cocaine, were admitted into evidence. We conclude that the court properly allowed the book into evidence because its probative value outweighed its potential for prejudice ( see, People v Davis, 43 N.Y.2d 17, 27, cert denied 435 U.S. 998, rearg dismissed 61 N.Y.2d 670). In any event, any error is harmless. Proof of defendant's guilt is overwhelming, and there is no significant probability that, absent the error, the jury would have acquitted defendant ( see, People v. Crimmins, 36 N.Y.2d 230, 242).
Finally, the court did not err in submitting the verdict sheet without defendant's consent; the references in the verdict sheet to "subdivision 1" and "subdivision 2" do not constitute the inclusion of statutory text or the elements of the crime charged ( see, CPL 310.20, 310.30; cf.:, People v. Damiano, 87 N.Y.2d 477, 480).