Opinion
536
March 20, 2003.
Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Robert Cohen, J.), rendered October 5, 2001, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to concurrent terms of 4½ to 9 years, unanimously affirmed.
Hae Jin Liu, for respondent.
Lauryn P. Gouldin, for defendant-appellant.
Before: Mazzarelli, J.P., Sullivan, Ellerin, Friedman, Gonzalez, JJ.
Defendant's application pursuant to Batson v. Kentucky ( 476 U.S. 79) was properly denied. Even if we were to treat the arguments made at trial by defendant and the codefendant as parts of a joint Batson application, we would find that all of defendant's current arguments are unpreserved (see People v. James, 99 N.Y.2d 264 [Dec 17, 2002], 2002 WL 31818505; People v. Allen, 86 N.Y.2d 101, 111), and we decline to review them in the interest of justice. Were we to review these claims, we would find that the record supports the court's findings, which are entitled to great deference (see People v. Hernandez, 75 N.Y.2d 350, affd 500 U.S. 352).
Defendant's challenges to the prosecutor's summation are unpreserved and we decline to review them in the interest of justice. Were we to review these claims, we would find that the challenged remarks constituted fair responses to defense counsel's summation and did not deprive defendant of a fair trial (see People v. Overlee, 236 A.D.2d 133,lv denied 91 N.Y.2d 976; People v. D'Alessandro, 184 A.D.2d 114, 118-119, lv denied 81 N.Y.2d 884).
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.