People v. Chalen (James)

• Court: Appellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York
• Decided: October 17, 2018
• Docket: 2018 NYSlipOp 51456(U)
• Status: Published

Opinion

The People of the State of New York, Respondent,

against

James Chalen, Defendant-Appellant.

Defendant appeals from a judgment of the Criminal Court of the City of New York, New York County (Heidi C. Cesare, J.), rendered September 13, 2016, convicting him, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of marijuana in the fourth degree (Penal Law § 221.15), and imposing sentence.

Per Curiam.

Judgment of conviction (Heidi C. Cesare, J.), rendered September 13, 2016, affirmed.

The accusatory instrument charging defendant with criminal possession of marijuana in the fourth degree (see Penal Law § 221.15) was not jurisdictionally defective. The instrument, consisting of the misdemeanor complaint and a certified laboratory report, set forth sufficient factual allegations to show the basis for the conclusion that the substance at issue was marijuana weighing in excess of two ounces, by reciting, inter alia, that the officer "took one black Nike backpack and one True Religion duffel bag containing marijuana from the backseat and trunk" of defendant's vehicle; that defendant stated "all of the marijuana in the car is mine"; and that the officer believed the "aggregate weight of the marijuana [was] more than two ounces based upon [his] professional training and experience as a police officer making marijuana arrests," which conclusion was confirmed by the certified laboratory report affixed to the complaint that indicated that the 32 ziploc bags and 20 other containers recovered contained marijuana with an "aggregate weight of 459.25 grams, which is just over 16 ounces" (see Matter of James J., 76 NY2d 883, 884 [1990]). THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT.

I concur I concur I concur
Decision Date: October 17, 2018