People v. Smith

Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
Date filed: 2015-06-17
Citations: 129 A.D.3d 997, 10 N.Y.S.3d 447
Copy Citations
1 Citing Case
Combined Opinion

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Condon, J.), rendered February 8, 2013, convicting him of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree, false personation, and *998 failure to obey a traffic control device, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

Contrary to the defendant’s contention, although the Supreme Court was unable to conduct a searching inquiry of the defendant with respect to the implications of self-representation, such an inability was due to the defendant’s own conduct, and the record, as a whole, demonstrates that he made a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent decision, expressed through word and deed, to waive his right to counsel and to proceed pro se (see People v Lineberger, 98 NY2d 662 [2002]; People v Sloane, 262 AD2d 431 [1999]). Furthermore, the court did not improvidently exercise its discretion in failing, sua sponte, to order a competency examination (see CPL 730.30 [1]; People v Morgan, 87 NY2d 878, 879 [1995]; People v Pelaez, 100 AD3d 803, 804 [2012]; People v Simpson, 52 AD3d 846, 847 [2008]).

Rivera, J.P., Cohen, Hinds-Radix and Barros, JJ., concur.