Summary
The Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed a judgment convicting Jose A. Sanabria of rape in the first and third degrees and an order denying his CPL 440.10 motion to vacate the judgment. The court held that the legal-sufficiency challenge was unpreserved and, alternatively, that the evidence was legally sufficient and the verdict was not against the weight of the evidence; it also rejected his ineffective-assistance claims without a hearing.
Court
Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department
Jurisdiction
Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, Second Department
Decision date
May 13, 2026
Docket number
2022-01831, 2024-05504
Disposition
affirmed
Questions Presented
- Whether defendant's challenge to the legal sufficiency of the evidence was preserved for appellate review.
- Whether the evidence was legally sufficient to establish defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Whether the verdict was against the weight of the evidence.
- Whether the Supreme Court properly denied defendant's CPL 440.10 motion without a hearing based on alleged ineffective assistance for failing to call an intoxication expert and an alternative DNA expert.
Holdings
- A legal-sufficiency challenge is unpreserved where defense counsel makes only a general motion for a trial order of dismissal that does not specify any particular error.
- Even assuming the issue were reviewable, the evidence was legally sufficient to establish defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
- The verdict was not against the weight of the evidence.
- The Supreme Court properly denied defendant's CPL 440.10 motion without a hearing, and the record demonstrated that defendant received effective assistance of counsel under federal and state standards.
Court Document
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