People v. Smith
Opinion of the Court
— Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Feldman, J.), rendered August 7, 1987, convicting him of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
Contrary to the defendant’s contention, and viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the People (People v Contes, 60 NY2d 620), we find that it was legally sufficient to establish that the defendant was in constructive possession of the controlled substances found in open view on a table next to the defendant in an apartment of which he was the sole occupant (see, People v Hamilton, 56 NY2d 632). Moreover, upon the exercise of our factual review power, we are satisfied that the verdict was not agáinst the weight of the evidence (CPL 470.15 [5]; People v Dawkins, 136 AD2d 726). The defendant’s assertion that he had no knowledge of the existence of these items is less than persuasive. Mangano, J. P., Brown, Eiber and Harwood, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.