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People v. Ceanfuegos

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Oct 23, 1995
220 A.D.2d 680 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)

Opinion

October 23, 1995

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


Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

The defendant's contention that the prosecution failed to establish a sufficient chain of custody for the narcotics which were admitted into evidence is without merit. It is well settled that "a chain of custody should be tested not by the satisfaction of a technical series of steps, but by whether the proof satisfies the rationale for requiring an evidentiary foundation" (People v. Julian, 41 N.Y.2d 340, 344). Here, the testimony of the police officers combined with that of the police chemist provided adequate assurance of the identity and unchanged condition of the narcotics (see, People v. Braithwaite, 204 A.D.2d 733; People v Stephens, 189 A.D.2d 837). Accordingly, any gap in custody which occurred between the sealing by the undercover police officer of the vouchered narcotics envelope and the chemist's receipt of the envelope goes to the weight to be given the evidence and not its admissibility (see, People v. Braithwaite, supra; People v Leach, 203 A.D.2d 483; People v. Stephens, supra).

The defendant further maintains that it was error for the trial court to advise prospective jurors during voir dire that the defendant might testify, and to indicate which of the potential witnesses in the case would be called by the defense. Although we agree that it was improper for the court to inform the prospective jurors that the defendant might testify and call witnesses (see, People v. Boyd, 74 A.D.2d 647, affd 53 N.Y.2d 912), the error was harmless in view of the court's prompt curative instruction, the fact that the defendant did testify, and the overwhelming evidence of his guilt (see, People v. Boyd, supra; People v. Crimmins, 36 N.Y.2d 230).

The defendant's remaining contentions are either without merit or are unpreserved for appellate review. Altman, J.P., Hart, Freidmann and Krausman, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

People v. Ceanfuegos

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Oct 23, 1995
220 A.D.2d 680 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)
Case details for

People v. Ceanfuegos

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. ENRIQUE CEANFUEGOS…

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

Date published: Oct 23, 1995

Citations

220 A.D.2d 680 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)
633 N.Y.S.2d 55

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