Opinion
Argued June 1, 1999
September 20, 1999
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Orange County (Pano Z. Patsalos, J.), rendered March 24, 1998, convicting him of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree and criminal use of drug paraphernalia in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Gary Greenwald, Chester, N.Y. (Stephen L. Oppenheim of counsel), for appellant.
Francis D. Phillips II, District Attorney, Goshen, N.Y. (Paul Harnisch of counsel), for respondent.
DAVID S. RITTER, J.P., WILLIAM C. THOMPSON, DANIEL W. JOY, HOWARD MILLER. JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
Contrary to the defendant's contention, the trial court did not improvidently exercise its discretion in rendering its Sandoval ruling by holding that, if the defendant were to testify, the People would be permitted to elicit the fact of a prior felony conviction then still under appeal ( see, People v. Mattiace, 77 N.Y.2d 269; People v. Galvin, 253 A.D.2d 437).
The defendant's sentence was neither harsh nor excessive ( see, People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80).
The defendant's remaining contentions are either unpreserved for appellate review or without merit.
RITTER, J.P., THOMPSON, JOY, and H. MILLER, JJ., concur.