People v. Sinclair

• Decision Date: 22 November 1999
• Citation: 698 N.Y.S.2d 876,266 A.D.2d 482
• Parties: The PEOPLE, etc., respondent, v. Dave SINCLAIR, appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Page 876

698 N.Y.S.2d 876

The PEOPLE, etc., respondent, v. Dave SINCLAIR, appellant.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division,

Second Department, New York.

Nov. 22, 1999.

Merrick Dammar, Bronx, N.Y., for appellant.

Charles J. Hynes, District Attorney, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Roseann B. MacKechnie and Jodi L. Mandel of counsel), for respondent.

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Bruno, J.), rendered April 15, 1997, convicting him of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.

Contrary to the defendant's contention, under the totality of the circumstances, he received the effective assistance of counsel to which he was constitutionally entitled (see, People v. Benevento, 91 N.Y.2d 708, 712-713, 674 N.Y.S.2d 629, 697 N.E.2d 584; People v. Baldi, 54 N.Y.2d 137, 147, 444 N.Y.S.2d 893, 429 N.E.2d 400). Mere losing tactics are not to be confused with ineffectiveness, and to sustain a claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, proof of less than meaningful representation is required, rather than disagreement with counsel's strategies and tactics (see, People v. Benevento, 91 N.Y.2d 708, 713, 674 N.Y.S.2d 629, 697 N.E.2d 584; People v. Rivera, 71 N.Y.2d 705, 530 N.Y.S.2d 52, 525 N.E.2d 698; People v. Satterfield, 66 N.Y.2d 796, 497 N.Y.S.2d 903, 488 N.E.2d 834; People v. Mack, 235 A.D.2d 548, 550, 653 N.Y.S.2d 933; People v. Rodriguez, 196 A.D.2d 514, 600 N.Y.S.2d 753).

BRACKEN, J.P., S. MILLER, THOMPSON, and FRIEDMANN, JJ., concur.