People v. Hedian

• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
• Citation: People v. Hedian, 683 N.Y.S.2d 848, 258 A.D.2d 363 (N.Y. App. Div. 1999)
• Decision Date: 18 February 1999
• Parties: THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent,<BR>v.<BR>OLIVER HEDIAN, Appellant.

258 A.D.2d 363

683 N.Y.S.2d 848

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent,

v.OLIVER HEDIAN, Appellant.

Decided February 18, 1999.

Concur — Tom, J.P., Mazzarelli, Andrias and Saxe, JJ.

The verdict was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of the evidence. There was ample evidence of constructive possession (see, People v Bundy, 90 NY2d 918), as well as possession under the "room presumption" theory (Penal Law § 220.25 [2]). We see no reason to disturb the jury's credibility determinations. In light of the court's charge (see, People v Tucker, 55 NY2d 1), the jury's acquittal of defendant on the possession with intent to sell count and weapon possession counts was not repugnant to the convictions on the other counts.

By not challenging the race-neutral explanations offered by the People for the peremptory challenges at issue, defendant failed to preserve his Batson claim, and we decline to review it in the interest of justice. Were we to review this claim, we would find the prosecutor's reasons to be non-pretextual.

Since defendant's sentence for...