Opinion
June 14, 1984
Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Ulster County (Vogt, J.), rendered March 23, 1983, upon a verdict convicting defendant of the crime of burglary in the third degree. ¶ Defendant appeals from his conviction of burglary in the third degree following a jury trial. Among other contentions, defendant argues that the absence of a record of the Sandoval hearing requires reversal. In People v. Henderson ( 95 A.D.2d 875), we recently withheld determination of the appeal and remitted for a Sandoval hearing, holding, "The absence of a record effectively impedes any review respecting the correctness of the Sandoval ruling." Although in this case defendant took the stand and review of his cross-examination reveals it to be more than likely that County Court did, as required by People v. Williams ( 56 N.Y.2d 236), exercise its discretion in ruling on the Sandoval motion, we are of the opinion that to provide certainty on appellate review, a record of the Sandoval hearing, including County Court's reasons for its ruling (see People v. Henderson, 97 A.D.2d 620), is necessary. Accordingly, we withhold determination of the appeal and remit for a Sandoval hearing, which should be recorded so as to permit effective review. ¶ Decision withheld, and matter remitted to County Court of Ulster County for a hearing and determination of defendant's Sandoval motion. Mahoney, P.J., Main, Weiss, Levine and Harvey, JJ., concur.