Opinion
2012-03-1
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Francis RIVERA, Defendant–Appellant.
Steven Banks, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Paul Wiener of counsel), for appellant. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Matthew T. Murphy of counsel), for respondent.
Steven Banks, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Paul Wiener of counsel), for appellant. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Matthew T. Murphy of counsel), for respondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Rena K. Uviller, J.), rendered July 1, 2009, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, and sentencing him to a term of 6 months, unanimously affirmed.
By pleading guilty, defendant waived his objection to the grand jury instructions ( see People v. Garcia, 216 A.D.2d 36, 627 N.Y.S.2d 666 [1995] ). In any event, there was no impairment of the integrity of the grand jury proceedings ( compare People v. Pelchat, 62 N.Y.2d 97, 476 N.Y.S.2d 79, 464 N.E.2d 447 [1984] ). The prosecutor properly instructed the grand jury on the essential elements of the crime of possession of a cane sword, which is a per se weapon, by reading the language of the statute ( see People v. Berrier, 223 A.D.2d 456, 637 N.Y.S.2d 69 [1996], lv. denied 88 N.Y.2d 876, 645 N.Y.S.2d 450, 668 N.E.2d 421 [1996] ). Under the circumstances, there was no need for any further instructions concerning the element of mental culpability ( see id.; compare People v. Wood, 58 A.D.3d 242, 869 N.Y.S.2d 401 [2008], lv. denied 12 N.Y.3d 823, 881 N.Y.S.2d 30, 908 N.E.2d 938 [2009] ). Accordingly, the prosecutor furnished the grand jury “with enough information to enable it intelligently to decide whether a crime has been committed” ( People v. Calbud, 49 N.Y.2d 389, 394, 426 N.Y.S.2d 238, 402 N.E.2d 1140 [1980] ).