People v. Santiago

223 A.D.2d 366, 637 N.Y.S.2d 33, 1996 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 59

Opinion

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Martin Marcus, J.), rendered March 24, 1992, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of manslaughter in the first degree, and sentencing him to a term of 81/s to 25 years, unanimously modified, as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, to the extent of reducing the sentence to a term of 5 to 15 years, and otherwise affirmed.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the People, the evidence that defendant stabbed the deceased three times in the back in the course of a fist fight was legally sufficient to establish the requisite intent to cause serious physical injury (People v Culpepper, 109 AD2d 622, lv denied 65 NY2d 814), and, upon review of the facts, we find that the verdict was not against the weight of the evidence (People v Bleakley, 69 NY2d 490, 495). The record does not support defendant’s Batson claim that the prosecutor discriminated against male Hispanics in exercising her peremptory challenges (see, People v Allen, 86 NY2d 101). Accordingly, we need not address the question whether "young male Hispanics” constitute a cognizable group for Batson purposes (see, Turner v Marshall, 63 F3d 807, 812 [9th Cir 1995]).

We find the sentence excessive to the extent indicated.

We have reviewed defendant’s remaining contentions and find them without merit. Concur—Murphy, P. J., Wallach, Kupferman, Ross and Williams, JJ.