People v Ruiz
2008 NY Slip Op 09628 [57 AD3d 576]
December 2, 2008
Appellate Division, Second Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, February 11, 2009


The People of the State of New York, Respondent,
v
Carlos Ruiz, Appellant.

[*1] Lynn W.L. Fahey, New York, N.Y. (Barry Stendig of counsel), for appellant.

Richard A. Brown, District Attorney, Kew Gardens, N.Y. (John M. Castellano and Sharon Y. Brodt of counsel; Lorrie A. Zinno on the brief), for respondent.

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Wong, J.), rendered April 14, 2004, convicting him of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, upon his plea of guilty, and imposing sentence.

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

The defendant entered his plea of guilty in February 2003. After the sentencing date was adjourned four times, the defendant discharged the attorney who had represented him at the plea proceedings and retained new counsel on the eve of the adjourned sentencing date of April 14, 2004. A request was then made for a further adjournment, which was denied by the Supreme Court.

The decision whether to grant an adjournment is a matter of discretion for the trial court (see People v Singleton, 41 NY2d 402, 405 [1977]; People v Rodriguez, 299 AD2d 564 [2002]; People v Lee, 155 AD2d 556 [1989]). Here, the Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in denying the defendant's request for a further adjournment. Rivera, J.P., Dillon, Covello and McCarthy, JJ., concur.