Opinion
November 10, 1997
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Queens County (Clabby, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
Contrary to the defendant's contention, the jury instructions adequately informed the jury of the appropriate standards to be applied with respect to the charges which were based wholly upon circumstantial evidence. The words "moral certainty" are not required to be used so long as the jury is instructed in substance that "the inference of guilt is the only one that can fairly and reasonably be drawn from the facts, and that the evidence excludes beyond a reasonable doubt every reasonable hypothesis of innocence" ( People v. Sanchez, 61 N.Y.2d 1022, 1024; People v. Rojas, 240 A.D.2d 439; People v. Marsalis, 189 A.D.2d 897; People v. Pate, 182 A.D.2d 717; People v. Livingston, 157 A.D.2d 859). The court's charge in that regard was sufficient.
The defendant's remaining contentions are either unpreserved for appellate review, without merit, or do not require reversal.
Mangano, P.J., Bracken, Altman and Goldstein, JJ., concur.