Opinion
No. KA 06-00554.
November 13, 2009.
Appeal from a judgment of the Monroe County Court (Frank E Geraci, Jr., J.), rendered October 12, 2005. The judgment convicted defendant, after a nonjury trial, of murder in the second degree.
TIMOTHY P. DONAHER, PUBLIC DEFENDER, ROCHESTER (MATTHEW J. CLARK OF COUNSEL), FOR DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.
MICHAEL C. GREEN, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, ROCHESTER (NANCY A. GILLIGAN OF COUNSEL), FOR RESPONDENT.
Present: Martoche, J.P., Smith, Peradotto, Green and Pine, JJ.
It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.
Memorandum: The sole contention of defendant in this appeal from a judgment convicting him following a nonjury trial of murder in the second degree (Penal Law § 125.25) is that he was denied effective assistance of counsel. We reject that contention ( see generally People v Flores, 84 NY2d 184, 186-187; People v Baldi, 54 NY2d 137, 147). Defense counsel's failure to make various motions that had little or no chance of success does not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel ( see People v McDuffie, 46 AD3d 1385, 1386, lv denied 10 NY3d 867; People v Dashnaw, 37 AD3d 860, 863, lv denied 8 NY3d 945; People v Johnson, 11 AD3d 979, 979-980, lv denied 3 NY3d 757). In addition, defense counsel's failure to object to County Court's Sandoval ruling or to seek a compromise ruling did not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel inasmuch as the court in this nonjury trial "`is presumed to have evaluated the evidence [of defendant's past criminal conduct] only for the purpose of impeaching . . . defendant's credibility and not as evidence of guilt of the crime charged'" ( People v Maryon, 20 AD3d 911, 913, lv denied 5 NY3d 854).
Contrary to defendant's further contention, neither defense counsel's failure to object to the prosecutor's allegedly improper remarks during summation nor defense counsel's limited cross-examination of certain witnesses deprived defendant of effective assistance of counsel, particularly in the context of this nonjury trial ( see Maryon, 20 AD3d at 913; see also People v Walker, 50 AD3d 1452, 1453, lv denied 11 NY3d 795, denied reconsideration 11 NY3d 931).