Opinion
2000-11594.
December 1, 2003.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Eng, J.), rendered November 28, 2000, convicting him of conspiracy in the second degree (two counts), criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first degree, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Lynn W.L. Fahey, New York, N.Y. (John Gemmill of counsel), for appellant, and appellant pro se.
Richard A. Brown, District Attorney, Kew Gardens, N.Y. (John M. Castellano, Jeanette Lifschitz, and Ushir Pandit of counsel), for respondent.
Before: DANIEL F. LUCIANO, REINALDO E. RIVERA, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
The Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in replacing a sworn juror who had been struck by a car and reported to the court's law secretary that she was medically unable to continue her jury service. Upon learning of the juror's accident, the court initially adjourned the case for a day. However, the next day, after another telephone conversation with the court's law secretary confirmed that the juror would be unable to serve, the court replaced her with an alternate juror without any objection from the defense counsel. Contrary to the defendant's contention, the court did not improperly delegate its obligation to make "a reasonably thorough inquiry" regarding the juror's unavailability (CPL 270.35[a]; see People v. Jeanty, 94 N.Y.2d 507; People v. Bruno, 295 A.D.2d 228; People v. Ortiz, 286 A.D.2d 781).
The contention in the defendant's supplemental pro se brief that the court erroneously admitted a tape recorded conversation between him and a deceased confidential informant into evidence is without merit ( cf. People v. Ely, 68 N.Y.2d 520, 527-528; see People v. Rawlins, 105 A.D.2d 552).
The sentence imposed was not excessive ( see People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80).
The defendant's remaining contentions, including those raised in his supplemental pro se brief, either are unpreserved for appellate review or without merit.
ALTMAN, J.P., FLORIO, LUCIANO and RIVERA, JJ., concur.