Opinion
March 7, 1988
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Broomer, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
During the course of his summation, the prosecutor stated, "I am going to ask you to return to the jury room and return a verdict that is consistent with uncontradicted evidence in this case". This statement was improper, since it constituted a reference to the defendant's failure to testify (see, People v Allen, 127 A.D.2d 840, 841, lv denied 69 N.Y.2d 947). However, this remark went without objection and any claim of prosecutorial misconduct based on it is therefore not preserved for appellate review as a matter of law (see, People v. Dawson, 50 N.Y.2d 311, 324; People v. Williams, 46 N.Y.2d 1070). Even if this claim of prosecutorial misconduct had been preserved for review, we conclude that reversal would not be warranted since the proof of the defendant's guilt is strong, and the likelihood that this remark affected the jury's verdict is minimal.
We have examined the defendant's remaining contentions and find that they are similarly unpreserved for appellate review, or meritless. Mangano, J.P., Thompson, Bracken and Spatt, JJ., concur.