PEOPLE v. FERNANDEZ (2025)

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Richard Lee Price, J., at suppression hearing;  Dominic Massaro, J., at trial and sentencing), rendered July 15, 2010, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of two counts of murder in the second degree, and sentencing him to consecutive prison terms of 25 years to life, and order, same court (John Carter, J.), entered on or about December 21, 2021, which denied his CPL 440.10 motion to vacate the judgment, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant received effective assistance of counsel under the state and federal standards (see People v. Benevento, 91 N.Y.2d 708, 713–714, 674 N.Y.S.2d 629, 697 N.E.2d 584 [1998];  Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 [1984]).  Defendant has not shown that any of counsel's alleged deficiencies fell below an objective standard of reasonableness, or that they were prejudicial under either of those standards.  Further, counsel would not have prevailed had he investigated or made the additional suppression arguments that defendant faults counsel for failing to make (see People v. Stultz, 2 N.Y.3d 277, 287, 778 N.Y.S.2d 431, 810 N.E.2d 883 [2004]).  Although defendant used drugs and had psychiatric problems, those issues were not likely to undermine a finding of voluntariness here, where the videotaped statement itself provided the most direct evidence of defendant's voluntary waiver of his Miranda rights (see People v. Munoz, 134 A.D.2d 532, 533, 521 N.Y.S.2d 299 [2d Dept. 1987], lv denied 70 N.Y.2d 958, 525 N.Y.S.2d 842, 520 N.E.2d 560 [1988]).

We perceive no basis for reducing the sentence.