People v. Lawson

293 A.D.2d 338, 740 N.Y.S.2d 199, 2002 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 3777

Opinion

—Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (John Stackhouse, J.), rendered December 10, 1999, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to a term of 4V2 to 9 years, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant’s testimony regarding the drug-free nature of his building opened the door to a modification of the court’s Sandoval ruling. Even were we to find it to have been error to permit the People’s expanded cross-examination of defendant concerning his prior record, we would find the error to be harmless in view of the overwhelming evidence of defendant’s guilt (see, People v Crimmins, 36 NY2d 230). Concur—Williams, P.J., Nardelli, Andrias, Sullivan and Friedman, JJ.