Opinion
9053, 9054.
September 28, 2006.
Judgment of resentence, Supreme Court, New York County (James A. Yates, J.), rendered November 3, 2005, resentencing defendant, upon his conviction, after a nonjury trial, of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree, as a second felony offender, to a term of 12 years, unanimously affirmed.
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Laura Burde of counsel), for appellant.
Robert M. Morgenthau, District Attorney, New York (Ameer Benno of counsel), for respondent.
Before: Mazzarelli, J.P., Andrias, Sullivan, Nardelli and McGuire, JJ.
Defendant was resentenced, pursuant to the Drug Law Reform Act (L 2004, ch 738), from a term of 15 years to life to a term, of 12 years on his first-degree drug possession conviction. His argument that his conviction should be reduced to second-degree possession is without merit ( People v Quinones, 22 AD3d 218, lv denied 6 NY3d 817; People v Nelson, 21 AD3d 861, lv granted 6 NY3d 757). Defendant's constitutional challenge to the procedure under which he was sentenced as a second felony offender is also without merit ( Almendarez-Torres v United States, 523 US 224).