People v. Cole

—Judgment unanimously affirmed. Memorandum: We find no merit to the contention of defendant that her absence from the initial Sandoval hearing (see, People v Sandoval, 34 NY2d 371) deprived her of the right to be present at a critical stage of the trial (see, People v Dokes, 79 NY2d 656). Assuming, arguendo, that defendant was not present during the initial Sandoval conference, the subsequent colloquy conducted in defendant’s presence constituted a de novo hearing (see, People v Lanaux, 197 AD2d 908; People v Berger, 188 AD2d 1073, lv denied 81 NY2d 881; People v Smith, 186 AD2d 976, affd 82…