People v. Moultrie, 100 A.D.3d 401 (N.Y. App. Div. 2012). · Go Syfert
People v. Moultrie, 100 A.D.3d 401 (N.Y. App. Div. 2012). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
8 citation events (8 in the last 25 years) across 1 distinct court.
Strongest positive: SCOTT, DAVELL, PEOPLE v (nyappdiv, 2014-09-26)
Top citers, strongest first. 5 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited "see" SCOTT, DAVELL, PEOPLE v
N.Y. App. Div. · 2014 · signal: see · confidence high
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to defendant (see People v Rivera, 23 NY3d 112 , 120- 121, citing People v Martin, 59 NY2d 704, 705 ; People v Moultrie, 100 AD3d 401, 402 , lv denied 20 NY3d 1102 ), we conclude that “[t]here was no basis, other than sheer speculation, for the jury to find that the chemist inaccurately weighed the drugs, or to otherwise reject the portion of [her] testimony concerning the weight of the substance, while at the same time accepting the portion of [her] testimony identifying the substance” (People v Johnson, 66 AD3d 537 , 538; see -2- 916 KA 11…
discussed Cited "see" People v. Scott
N.Y. App. Div. · 2014 · signal: see · confidence high
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to defendant (see People v Rivera, 23 NY3d 112, 120-121 [2014], citing People v Martin, 59 NY2d 704, 705 [1983]; People v Moultrie, 100 AD3d 401 , 402 [2012], lv denied 20 NY3d 1102 [2013]), we conclude that “[t]here was no basis, other than sheer speculation, for the jury to find that the chemist inaccurately weighed the drugs, or to otherwise reject the portion of [her] testimony concerning the weight of the substance, while at the same time accepting the portion of [her] testimony identifying the substance” (People v Johnson, 66 AD3d 537 …
discussed Cited "see" People v. Scott
N.Y. App. Div. · 2014 · signal: see · confidence high
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to defendant (see People v Rivera, 23 NY3d 112, 120-121 [2014], citing People v Martin, 59 NY2d 704, 705 [1983]; People v Moultrie, 100 AD3d 401 , 402 [2012], lv denied 20 NY3d 1102 [2013]), we conclude that “[t]here was no basis, other than sheer speculation, for the jury to find that the chemist inaccurately weighed the drugs, or to otherwise reject the portion of [her] testimony concerning the weight of the substance, while at the same time accepting the portion of [her] testimony identifying the substance” (People v Johnson, 66 AD3d 537 …
discussed Cited "see" People v. Acevedo
N.Y. App. Div. · 2013 · signal: see · confidence high
Defendant indicated that each portion was cocaine when he sold it to the Cl and the crime is not based on the purity of the drug in the substance, as “the aggregate weight of a controlled substance is determined by the weight of the substance which contains the drug, irrespective of the amount of the drug in the substance” (People v Mendoza, 81 NY2d 963, 965 [1993] [internal quotation marks and citation omitted]; see People v Moultrie, 100 AD3d 401 , 401-402 [2012], lv denied 20 NY3d 1102 [2013]).
discussed Cited "see" People v. Acevedo
N.Y. App. Div. · 2013 · signal: see · confidence high
Defendant indicated that each portion was cocaine when he sold it to the Cl and the crime is not based on the purity of the drug in the substance, as “the aggregate weight of a controlled substance is determined by the weight of the substance which contains the drug, irrespective of the amount of the drug in the substance” (People v Mendoza, 81 NY2d 963, 965 [1993] [internal quotation marks and citation omitted]; see People v Moultrie, 100 AD3d 401 , 401-402 [2012], lv denied 20 NY3d 1102 [2013]).
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
The People of the State of New York
v.
Derrick Moultrie
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
Nov 8, 2012.
100 A.D.3d 401
Cited by 1 opinion  |  Published

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Robert M. Stolz, J., at dismissal motion; Thomas Farber, J, at jury trial and sentencing), rendered May 25, 2010, convicting defendant of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth and seventh degrees, and sentencing him, as a second felony drug offender whose prior felony conviction was a violent felony, to an aggregate term of years, unanimously affirmed.

The verdict was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of the evidence (see People v Danielson, 9 NY3d 342, 348 [2007]). Defendant asserts that the evidence failed to prove he possessed 500 milligrams of cocaine, the threshold for fifth-degree possession (Penal Law § 220.06 [5]).

The police recovered nine similar bags of cocaine from defendant, and there is nothing to suggest the possibility that the bags differed significantly in purity. A chemist testified that he combined the contents of the bags and gave a representative sample of the combined drugs to another chemist. The second chemist testified that she measured the purity of the cocaine in the sample and mathematically computed the total weight of the cocaine contained in the nine bags. She concluded that the total weight of cocaine was nearly three times the statutory threshold. The second chemist also described the standard procedure in obtaining a representative sample.

This testimony provided ample grounds for the jury to conclude that a proper sampling method had been employed and that it established defendant’s guilt (see People v Hill, 85[*402] NY2d 256, 261 [1995]; People v Argro, 37 NY2d 929 [1975]). The absence of testimony from the first chemist as to whether he followed the standard procedure for combining the drugs does not undermine that conclusion. Even accepting the unlikely possibility that one or more of the bags contained cocaine of a dramatically higher purity than the others, defendant has presented no plausible theory of how the first chemist might have combined the drugs but still obtained a sample that was not only unrepresentative, but so skewed that it led to a grossly inaccurate calculation.

Similarly, the court properly declined to charge seventh-degree possession as a lesser included offense of fifth-degree possession. No reasonable view of the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to defendant, supported that charge (see e.g. People v Butler, 248 AD2d 274 [1st Dept 1998], lv denied 91 NY2d 1005 [1998]). There was no basis, other than speculation, for the jury to find that the quantity of cocaine was less than 500 milligrams.

The alleged defects in the grand jury presentation did not rise to the level of impairing the integrity of the proceeding and did not warrant the exceptional remedy of dismissal (see People v Huston, 88 NY2d 400, 410 [1996]; People v Darby, 75 NY2d 449, 455 [1990]).

We have considered and rejected defendant’s pro se claims. Concur — Andrias J.P., Saxe, Moskowitz, Abdus-Salaam and Manzanet-Daniels, JJ.