People v. Davis

232 A.D.2d 224, 648 N.Y.S.2d 29, 1996 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 10061

Opinion

—Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Harold Roth wax, J.), rendered May 12, 1993, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of murder in the second degree, attempted murder in the second degree and criminal use of a firearm in the first degree, and sentencing him to concurrent terms of 25 years to. life on the murder conviction and 121/2 to 25 years on the firearms conviction, to run consecutively with a term of 81/s to 25 years on the attempted murder conviction, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant’s bald assertions that he lacked confidence in his assigned counsel were insufficient to establish the "[g]ood cause” necessary to entitle him to new counsel (People v Sawyer, 57 NY2d 12, 19, cert denied 459 US 1178), as was his apparent disagreement with counsel’s trial strategy (see, People v Medina, 44 NY2d 199, 208). While an indigent defendant is entitled to effective assistance of counsel, there is no right to successive counsel (see, People v Sides, 75 NY2d 822, 824). Although the trial court did not engage in a lengthy question and answer session with defendant, defendant was allowed to state his reasons five times orally, as well as in his written motion, a process which appropriately enabled the court to ascertain the grounds for defendant’s motion and to determine that good cause was lacking. Concur—Milonas, J. P., Ellerin, Wallach, Rubin and Kupferman, JJ.