THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK RESPONDENT v. CLARENCE COOPER III DEFENDANT APPELLANT (2018)

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

It is hereby ORDERED that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously reversed on the law and a new trial is granted.

Memorandum:  Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him after a jury trial of, inter alia, burglary in the second degree (Penal Law § 140.25 [2] ).  As the People correctly concede, reversal is required.  The record establishes that defendant was excluded from Supreme Court's Sandoval conference (see generally People v. Dokes, 79 N.Y.2d 656, 662 [1992] ) and, because “[t]he court's Sandoval ruling in this case was not wholly favorable to defendant, ․ ‘it cannot be said that defendant's presence at the hearing would have been superfluous' “ (People v. Gardner, 144 AD3d 1546, 1547 [4th Dept 2016];  see generally People v. Odiat, 82 N.Y.2d 872, 874 [1993] ).

Mark W. Bennett

Clerk of the Court