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The PEOPLE of the State of New York, RESPONDENT, v. Prince R. CLARK, Jr., Defendant-Appellant.
Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him upon a jury trial of, inter alia, two counts each of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree (Penal Law § 220.16[1], [12] ) and criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree (§ 220.50[2], [3] ). We reject the contention of defendant that County Court abused its discretion in denying his motion to sever his trial from that of his codefendant. “The ‘core of each defense [was not] in irreconcilable conflict with the other and ․ there [was no] significant danger, as both defenses [were] portrayed to the trial court, that the conflict alone would lead the jury to infer defendant's guilt’ “ (People v. Bolling, 49 AD3d 1330, 1332, quoting People v. Mahboubian, 74 N.Y.2d 174, 184; see People v. Cardwell, 78 N.Y.2d 996, 997-998). Although at least one comment made by the codefendant's attorney on summation was unfavorable to defendant, that single display of hostility did not warrant severance (see People v. Watkins, 10 AD3d 665, 665-666, lv denied 3 NY3d 761). Also contrary to the contention of defendant, he did not establish his entitlement to severance on the ground that he would have been subjected to prejudicial cross-examination by the attorney for his codefendant had defendant testified (see generally People v. McGee, 68 N.Y.2d 328, 333). “At no stage of the proceedings [did] defendant establish[ ] that his potential testimony would have given the codefendant an incentive to impeach his credibility” (People v. Frazier, 309 A.D.2d 534, 534, lv denied 1 NY3d 571).
It is hereby ORDERED that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.
MEMORANDUM:
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Decided: October 02, 2009
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FindLaw’s Learn About the Law features thousands of informational articles to help you understand your options. And if you’re ready to hire an attorney, find one in your area who can help.
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