People v. McPhatter

• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
• Writing for the Court: Before SULLIVAN
• Citation: People v. McPhatter, 653 N.Y.S.2d 1, 235 A.D.2d 233 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)
• Decision Date: 09 January 1997
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Keith McPHATTER, Defendant-Appellant.

Page 1

653 N.Y.S.2d 1

235 A.D.2d 233

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Keith McPHATTER, Defendant-Appellant.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division First Department.

Jan. 9, 1997.

Paul Harnisch, for Respondent.

Lori Shellenberger, for Defendant-Appellant.

Before SULLIVAN, J.P., and WALLACH, RUBIN, WILLIAMS and TOM, JJ.

MEMORANDUM DECISION.

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Martin Rettinger, J.), rendered September 20, 1994, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of robbery in the second degree, and sentencing him, as a second violent felony offender, to a term of 7 1/2 to 15 years, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant's right to be present at a sidebar conference during the jury voir dire was not violated. The record indicates that the prospective juror in question was disqualified by the court for cause, based upon the court's consideration of the venireperson's expressed potential for bias. In such circumstances, defendant could not have made any meaningful contribution to the sidebar exchange and thus his presence was not required (People v. Roman, 88 N.Y.2d 18, 28, 643 N.Y.S.2d 10, 665 N.E.2d 1050).

Defendant's claims of violation of the mode of proceedings prescribed by law and violation of his right to be present during jury instruction are unsupported by the record. In this connection, the trial court properly directed a court officer to complete the ministerial task of delivering to the jury, as...