People v. Paige

269 A.D.2d 325, 703 N.Y.S.2d 720, 2000 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 2222

• Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
• Decided: February 29, 2000
• Status: Published

Opinion

—Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Lawrence Bernstein, J.), rendered October 8, 1997, convicting defendant, after a non-jury trial, of manslaughter in the second degree, and sentencing him to a term of 33/4 to IIV4 years, unanimously affirmed.

The verdict was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of the evidence. The People disproved beyond a reasonable doubt defendant’s justification defense, since the evidence amply established that defendant could not have “reasonably believe [d]” that deadly physical force was necessary “to prevent or terminate the commission or attempted commission of [a] burglary” (Penal Law § 35.20 [3]). Concur — Rosenberger, J. P., Mazzarelli, Ellerin, Rubin and Andrias, JJ.