Opinion
August 4, 1986
Appeal from the County Court, Orange County (Delaney, J.).
Judgment modified, as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, by reducing the sentence to a term of from 5 to 15 years' imprisonment. As so modified, judgment affirmed.
The defendant's claims of error with regard to the sufficiency of the evidence are without merit. The victim's allegations of sodomy were corroborated by the testimony of his mother and her fiance, as well as by the defendant's own admissions (see, e.g., People v Pepper, 59 N.Y.2d 353; People v Dickson, 112 A.D.2d 312). Although the defendant denied that he had intentionally sodomized the boy, the jury could find otherwise (see, People v St. John, 74 A.D.2d 85).
Also unfounded is the defendant's contention that he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel. The record reveals that defense counsel "vigorously attacked the People's case and advanced the defendant's contentions fully" (People v Morris, 100 A.D.2d 630, 631, affd 64 N.Y.2d 803). His request that the court not instruct the jury on the legal effect of intoxication was obviously a deliberate trial strategy, the merits of which should not be judged in light of retrospective analysis (see, People v Baldi, 54 N.Y.2d 137; People v Satterfield, 66 N.Y.2d 796).
The defendant's sentence was excessive to the extent indicated. Mollen, P.J., Thompson, Brown and Rubin, JJ., concur.