People v. Ali
| Decision Date | 05 February 1990 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. Nail ALI, Appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Philip L. Weinstein, New York City (Dennis Boyd, of counsel), for appellant.
John J. Santucci, Dist. Atty., Kew Gardens (Howard Meshnick, of counsel), for respondent.
Before BRACKEN, J.P., and LAWRENCE, HARWOOD and BALLETTA, JJ.
MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Thorp, J.), rendered February 29, 1988, convicting him of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant's contention that he was deprived of a fair trial by the prosecutor's misconduct was not preserved for appellate review (see, CPL 470.05[2]; People v. Udzinski, 146 A.D.2d 245, 248-252, 541 N.Y.S.2d 9). In any event, it is without merit. The references to the race of one of the police officers and the informant during the witnesses' direct testimony and in the prosecutor's summation, while improper, did not constitute such a "thematic reference to * * * race" that reversal is warranted (see, People v. Rivera, 136 A.D.2d 520, 523 N.Y.S.2d 834; People v. Kong, 131 A.D.2d 783, 517 N.Y.S.2d 71; cf., People v. Thomas, 129 A.D.2d 596, 597-598, 514 N.Y.S.2d 91). The prosecutor's remarks concerning the police witnesses' membership in an "elite" unit and Police Officer Bernard Porter's commendation and five awards, although irrelevant and improper (see, People v. McKutchen, 76 A.D.2d 934, 429 N.Y.S.2d 460; People v. Perez, 69 A.D.2d 891, 415 N.Y.S.2d 706), were harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of defendant's guilt (see, People v. Crimmins, 36 N.Y.2d 230, 241-42, 367 N.Y.S.2d 213, 326 N.E.2d 787). The defendant's remaining contention is without merit.
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