People v Stevens

People v Stevens 2011 NY Slip Op 07156 Decided on October 13, 2011 Appellate Division, First Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

Decided on October 13, 2011
Gonzalez, P.J., Andrias, Saxe, Sweeny, JJ.
5679 132/05

[*1]The People of the State of New York, Respondent,

v

Anthony Stevens, Defendant-Appellant.



 
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Jan
Hoth of counsel), for appellant.
Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Matthew C.
Williams of counsel), for respondent.

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Maxwell Wiley, J.), rendered February 10, 2006, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of burglary in the second degree, and sentencing him, as a second violent felony offender, to a term of 15 years, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant's ineffective assistance claims primarily involve matters outside the record concerning counsel's strategic choices (see People v Love, 57 NY2d 998 [1982]). Although defendant raised these claims in unsuccessful CPL 440.10 motions, defendant's motions for leave to appeal to this Court were denied (see CPL 450.15 [1]; 460.15). Accordingly, our review is limited to the trial record. To the extent the trial record permits review, we conclude that defendant received effective
assistance under the state and federal standards (see People v Benevento, 91 NY2d 708, 713-714 [1998]; see also Strickland v Washington, 466 US 668 [1984]). Defendant has not shown "the absence of strategic or other legitimate explanations" for the various aspects of counsel's conduct challenged on appeal (People v Rivera, 71 NY2d 705, 709 [1988]). Furthermore, given the overwhelming evidence of guilt, defendant has not shown a reasonable probability that any of his attorney's alleged errors or omissions affected the outcome of the trial or undermined confidence in the result.

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

ENTERED: OCTOBER 13, 2011

CLERK