Opinion
Argued September 24, 1999
November 15, 1999
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Orgera, J.), rendered April 16, 1997, convicting him of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
M. Sue Wycoff, New York, N.Y. (Alan S. Axelrod and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton Garrison [Tobias Barrington Wolff] of counsel), for appellant.
Richard A. Brown, District Attorney, Kew Gardens, N.Y. (John M. Castellano, Robin A. Forshaw, and Sabine L. Noisette of counsel), for respondent.
WILLIAM C. THOMPSON, J.P., DANIEL W. JOY, LEO F. McGINITY, SANDRA J. FEUERSTEIN, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
Contrary to the defendant's contention, the trial court properly concluded that the prosecutor supplied race-neutral explanations for his peremptory challenge of a certain black juror ( see, People v. Richie, 217 A.D.2d 84, 89). The defendant thereafter failed to sustain his burden of demonstrating that the explanations provided were merely pretextual ( see, People v. Payne, 88 N.Y.2d 172, 181; People v. Rivers, 255 A.D.2d 463; People v. Lassic, 254 A.D.2d 303; People v. Richie, supra).
The defendant's remaining contentions are without merit ( see, People v. Pavao, 59 N.Y.2d 282, 292; People v. McKay, 260 A.D.2d 408; [2d Dept., Apr. 5, 1999]; People v. Callistro, 259 A.D.2d 625 [2d Dept., Mar. 15, 1999]).
THOMPSON, J.P., JOY, McGINITY, and FEUERSTEIN, JJ., concur.