Case Name: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Jose Alvarez, Appellant
Court: New York Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1995-07-06
Citations: 86 N.Y.2d 761
Docket Number: 
Parties: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Jose Alvarez, Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: New York Reports
Volume: 86
Pages: 761–763

Head Matter:
[655 NE2d 171, 631 NYS2d 130]
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Jose Alvarez, Appellant.
Decided July 6, 1995
APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL
Karen M. Kalikow, New York City, and Daniel L. Greenberg for appellant.
Robert T. Johnson, District Attorney of Bronx County, Bronx (Lisa Ellen Mudd of counsel), for respondent.

Opinion:
OPINION OF THE COURT
Memorandum.
The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed. After a jury trial, defendant was convicted of criminal possession and sale of a controlled substance in the third degree. On appeal, defendant challenged the court's Allen charge to the jury as being improper. The Appellate Division rejected defendant's contention.
The record indicates that the Allen charge when taken as a whole was proper. The initial charge stressed the importance of reaching a verdict without forcing any juror to yield a conscientious belief (see, People v Ali, 65 AD2d 513, 514, affd 47 NY2d 920). While noting the jurors must accommodate inconsistencies in what other jurors may urge and attempt to reconcile the testimony, the court urged the jurors to "stick to [their] guns" if they believed in the "righteousness" of their positions. Moreover, any lack of clarity that could have arisen from the initial charge was dispelled by the court's supplemental instruction.
Defendant's remaining contentions are unpreserved.
Chief Judge Kaye and Judges Simons, Titone, Bellacosa, Smith, Levine and Ciparick concur.
On review of submissions pursuant to section 500.4 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals (22 NYCRR 500.4), order affirmed in a memorandum.