Opinion
1959
October 22, 2002.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Dorothy Cropper, J.), rendered April 3, 2000, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a persistent felony offender, to a term of 25 years to life, unanimously affirmed.
SUZANNE M. HERBERT, for respondent.
ERIC GOTTLIEB, for defendant-appellant.
Before: Williams, P.J., Nardelli, Andrias, Marlow, JJ.
The court properly denied defendant's challenge for cause, since the prospective juror's voir dire responses, viewed as a whole, did not cast any doubt on her ability to remain impartial (see People v. Arnold, 96 N.Y.2d 358). The panelist's use of terms such as "think" and "pretty sure" were not equivocal when taken in context (see People v. Chambers, 97 N.Y.2d 417, 419).
The court properly exercised its discretion in adjudicating defendant a persistent felony offender, given his serious and violent criminal history. We perceive no basis for a reduction of sentence.
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.