People v. Sydney

Citation600 N.Y.S.2d 358,195 A.D.2d 763
PartiesThe PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Dexter SYDNEY, Also Known as Ronald Taylor, Also Known as Caviar, Appellant.
Decision Date15 July 1993
CourtNew York Supreme Court Appellate Division

Phillip G. Steck, Albany, for appellant.

Sol Greenberg, Dist. Atty. (Michael J. Connolly, of counsel), Albany, for respondent.

Before WEISS, P.J., and YESAWICH, LEVINE, MERCURE and MAHONEY, JJ.

YESAWICH, Justice.

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Albany County (Keegan, J.), rendered September 3, 1991, upon a verdict convicting defendant of the crime of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree.

On May 23, 1990, detectives from the City of Albany Police Department arranged for a controlled purchase of cocaine to be effected by a confidential informant. After the informant was searched and given $120 in prerecorded buy money, one of the detectives watched through binoculars as the informant entered a building and emerged several minutes later. Upon returning to the police vehicle, the informant gave the detectives three small green baggies containing crack cocaine, which he claimed to have purchased for $100, and the remaining $20. He submitted to a final search, and left. The detectives then drove past the building that the informant had entered, and in which he claimed to have made the transaction, and saw defendant, who matched the description given by the informant of the person from whom he had purchased the cocaine, sitting on the front steps with several other people. Defendant was not arrested at that time, allegedly because to do so would have jeopardized an ongoing investigation.

Approximately one month later, when the detectives saw defendant again, they arrested him on the basis of the events that had transpired on May 23, 1990. Defendant was indicted on a single count of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree and, after a jury trial, he was convicted of that count and sentenced as a second felony offender to an indeterminate prison term of 12 1/2 to 25 years. He appeals.

Initially, we find no merit to defendant's argument that he was denied his statutory right to a speedy trial (see, CPL 30.30). In support of this contention, defendant points to the fact that the People informed him for the first time on May 16, 1991, that the confidential informant had previously been represented by the Public Defender's office, which at that time was also representing defendant. The resulting conflict of interest was found to require the assignment of new counsel for defendant and an adjournment was granted to enable defendant's new attorney to prepare for trial. Defendant asserts that the People knew or should have known of the probable conflict earlier and that, until the information was disclosed, the People had not done "all that [was] required of them to bring the case to the point where it may be tried" (People v. McKenna, 76 N.Y.2d 59, 64, 556 N.Y.S.2d 514, 555 N.E.2d 911). Thus, defendant argues that the entire period from the initial appointment of the Public Defender until the possibility of a conflict was revealed (188 days) should be charged to the People as postreadiness delay (see, id., at 66, 556 N.Y.S.2d 514, 555 N.E.2d 911); when added to the 27 days of prereadiness delay, which the People do not dispute are properly charged to them, this would result in a total of 215 days, which exceeds the permissible delay of six months (see, CPL 30.30[1][a].

A period of postreadiness delay may be charged to the People if the reason for the delay constitutes "a direct, and virtually insurmountable, impediment to the trial's very commencement" (People v. McKenna, supra, at 64, 556 N.Y.S.2d 514, 555 N.E.2d 911) or has a direct bearing on the People's ability to present their case (see, People v. Anderson, 66 N.Y.2d 529, 543, 498 N.Y.S.2d 119, 488 N.E.2d 1231). Although it is true that no trial can commence until a defendant is properly represented--and therefore until any conflict of interest has been resolved--it has nonetheless been held that a defendant's lack of representation, at least where it is caused by the court, does not affect the People's "readiness" as that term is used in CPL 30.30 (see, People v. Cortes, 80 N.Y.2d 201, 210, 590 N.Y.S.2d 9, 604 N.E.2d 71). The situation here is analogous: the underlying reason for the delay, the conflict itself, was not caused by the People, nor does it implicate their ability to proceed with trial (see, id.). Furthermore, the People cannot be charged with causing any delay prior to the time that they first learned of the possibility of conflict. Inasmuch as defendant has made no showing of when the People became aware of the situation, he has not met his burden of demonstrating that sufficient postreadiness delay is chargeable to the People to mandate dismissal of the indictment (see, id., at 215, 590 N.Y.S.2d 9, 604 N.E.2d 71).

We also reject defendant's claim that the detectives' testimony, in which they explained the circumstances of the drive-by and the arrest, constituted...

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3 cases
  • People v. Brown
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court Appellate Division
    • 29 Agosto 1994
    ...efforts to resolve a conflict of interest (see, People v. Gomberg, 38 N.Y.2d 307, 379 N.Y.S.2d 769, 342 N.E.2d 550; People v. Sydney, 195 A.D.2d 763, 600 N.Y.S.2d 358; see also, People v. Wandell, 75 N.Y.2d 951, 555 N.Y.S.2d 686, 554 N.E.2d 1274; People v. McDonald, 68 N.Y.2d 1, 505 N.Y.S.2......
  • People v. McDaniel
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court Appellate Division
    • 27 Julio 1995
    ...between bolstering an actual identification and explaining the basis from which one's own identification derived" (People v. Sydney, 195 A.D.2d 763, 765, 600 N.Y.S.2d 358). Given these facts, it cannot be said that defendant was deprived of a fair trial (see generally, People v. King, 105 A......
  • People v. Roy
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court Appellate Division
    • 15 Julio 1993

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