The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Eugene Smith, Defendant–Appellant. (2016)

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department.

The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Eugene Smith, Defendant–Appellant.

333 Decided: February 25, 2016

Friedman, J.P., Sweeny, Saxe, Gische, JJ.

Cardozo Appeals Clinic, New York (Stanley Neustadter of counsel), for appellant. Robert T. Johnson, District Attorney, Bronx (Shannon Henderson of counsel), for respondent.

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Barbara F. Newman, J.), rendered September 4, 2013, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of burglary in the first and second degrees and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and sentencing him, as a persistent violent felony offender, to an aggregate term of 20 years to life, unanimously affirmed.

The court properly exercised its discretion in denying defendant's mistrial motion made after a police witness made an inadvertent, fleeting reference that implied defendant's parole status. The court's prompt and thorough curative instructions were sufficient to prevent any prejudice (see e. g. People v. Rubi, 19 AD3d 139, 140 [1st Dept 2005], lv denied 5 NY3d 809 [2005]; People v. Branford, 220 A.D.2d 203 [1st Dept 1995], lv denied 87 N.Y.2d 1017 [1996] ). In any event, any error was harmless (see People v. Crimmins, 36 N.Y.2d 230 [1975] ).

CLERK

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