Opinion
August 4, 1986
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Jaspan, J.).
Judgments affirmed.
We reject the defendant's contention that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel at each of the two separate trials held on the aforementioned indictments. While it appears that his trial counsel failed to request a Mapp hearing prior to the first of these trials, such an omission does not, standing alone, constitute ineffective assistance of counsel (see, People v Wagner, 104 A.D.2d 457; People v Morris, 100 A.D.2d 630, affd 64 N.Y.2d 803; People v Shannon, 92 A.D.2d 554; People v Bonk, 83 A.D.2d 695). Moreover, the record reveals that the remaining alleged errors by counsel were, in reality, reasonable exercises of trial strategy and judgment which should not be confused with ineffective assistance (see, e.g., People v Jackson, 52 N.Y.2d 1027).
Under the circumstances, including defense counsel's searching cross-examination of the police officers, his cogent argument resulting in the dismissal of one narcotics charge, and his general vigor and competence in defending his client, we are satisfied that the defendant received meaningful legal representation at both of his trials (see, People v Baldi, 54 N.Y.2d 137; People v Santillana, 118 A.D.2d 669; People v Dudley, 110 A.D.2d 652). Mollen, P.J., Thompson, Brown and Rubin, JJ., concur.