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People v. Hill

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Third Department
Jul 20, 1995
217 A.D.2d 803 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)

Opinion

July 20, 1995

Appeal from the County Court of Warren County (Moynihan, J.).


Defendant, as the result of an incident on September 3, 1992 at a supermarket located in the City of Glens Falls, Warren County, was indicted on single counts of robbery in the second degree, grand larceny in the third degree and criminal use of a firearm in the second degree. Defendant thereafter moved to dismiss the indictment for failure to prosecute and challenged the jury panel on the ground that it did not contain any individuals who, like defendant, were of African-American descent ( see, CPL 270.10); both of these motions were denied. Defendant was subsequently convicted of robbery in the second degree and grand larceny in the third degree and sentenced as a second felony offender to prison terms of 5 to 10 years on the robbery conviction and 3 to 6 years on the grand larceny conviction, each sentence to run concurrently. Defendant appeals.

Defendant's first contention is that County Court erred in denying defendant's challenge to the jury panel without a hearing. The record reflects however, that after an initial oral motion pursuant to CPL 270.10, defendant's counsel offered a handwritten challenge containing nonspecific, conclusory language. County Court correctly determined that the challenge lacked sufficient factual allegations to warrant a hearing ( see, People v. Mitchell, 156 A.D.2d 767, 770, lv denied 75 N.Y.2d 922; People v. Bessard, 148 A.D.2d 49, 51, lv denied 74 N.Y.2d 845).

Defendant also contends that County Court's Sandoval rulings constituted reversible error. We find no abuse of County Court's discretion ( see, People v. Malcolm, 204 A.D.2d 660, 661, lv denied 84 N.Y.2d 1034); County Court appropriately adopted a reasonable "` Sandoval compromise'" ( People v. Baird, 167 A.D.2d 693, 694, lv denied 77 N.Y.2d 903). Defendant further contends that the evidence adduced at trial was legally insufficient to support his conviction of grand larceny in the third degree because the People failed to demonstrate that defendant absconded with property worth more than $3,000. Defendant's argument is without merit. The record contains sufficient proof that property worth more than $3,000, as verified by the supermarket's head bookkeeper, was taken by defendant ( see, Penal Law § 155.20, [2] [b], [c]).

Defendant's next contention, that County Court's instruction on the concept of reasonable doubt was flawed, is unavailing. Defendant failed to preserve this issue for appellate review; however, upon a review of the record we conclude that County Court's charge did not suggest to the jurors that they were required to give reasons for their doubts. Hence, the charge given did not shift the burden of proof to defendant ( see, People v. Martin, 206 A.D.2d 591, 592; People v. Daniels, 204 A.D.2d 865).

Finally, defendant's contention that County Court abused its discretion in denying defendant's request for the jury to view the crime scene is also found to be without merit. The record does not reflect that there was anything "particularly uncommon or unique about the scene of the crime" ( People v. Kaufman, 156 A.D.2d 718, 719, lv denied 76 N.Y.2d 737; see, People v. Santiago, 197 A.D.2d 756, lv denied 83 N.Y.2d 876).

Cardona, P.J., Mikoll, White and Casey, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.


Summaries of

People v. Hill

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Third Department
Jul 20, 1995
217 A.D.2d 803 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)
Case details for

People v. Hill

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. DONNIE R. HILL…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Third Department

Date published: Jul 20, 1995

Citations

217 A.D.2d 803 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)
629 N.Y.S.2d 544

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