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People v. Alexandre

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
May 8, 1995
215 A.D.2d 488 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)

Opinion

May 8, 1995

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Egitto, J.).


Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

The defendant contends that the hearing court erred in failing to suppress his statements on the ground that any waiver was ineffective due to his limited command of the English language. We disagree. "`To constitute an effective waiver, it is not necessary that a defendant comprehend the import of the Miranda warnings in the abstract, so long as he is able to understand the immediate meaning of the warnings'" (People v Acuna, 145 A.D.2d 427, 430). There is ample evidence to support the hearing court's determination that the defendant sufficiently understood English to knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waive his rights. That determination, made by the court which saw and heard the witnesses, should not be disturbed unless clearly unsupported by the record (see, People v Garafolo, 44 A.D.2d 86).

The defendant's contention that the evidence was legally insufficient to establish his involvement in the robbery underlying the felony murder conviction is unpreserved for appellate review (see, People v Udzinski, 146 A.D.2d 245). In any event, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution (see, People v Contes, 60 N.Y.2d 620), we find that it is legally sufficient to establish the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Moreover, upon the exercise of our factual review power, we are satisfied that the verdict of guilt was not against the weight of the evidence (see, CPL 470.15). Resolution of issues of credibility, as well as the weight to be accorded to the evidence presented, are primarily questions to be determined by the jury, which saw and heard the witnesses (see, People v Gaimari, 176 N.Y. 84; People v Garafolo, supra).

The defendant's remaining contentions are unpreserved for appellate review (see, CPL 470.05) and, in any event, are without merit. Thompson, J.P., Santucci, Friedmann and Florio, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

People v. Alexandre

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
May 8, 1995
215 A.D.2d 488 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)
Case details for

People v. Alexandre

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. MARCELIN ALEXANDRE…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: May 8, 1995

Citations

215 A.D.2d 488 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)
626 N.Y.S.2d 520

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