People v. Guzman

*3OPINION OF THE COURT

Chief Judge Wachtler.

The question presented in this case is whether a hearing-impaired person is, by reason of that impairment, disqualified from service as a juror. We agree with the courts below, based on their factual determinations concerning the abilities of the prospective juror and the interpreter assigned to assist him, that the prospective juror’s deafness did not render him "incapable of performing in a reasonable manner the duties of a juror” (Judiciary Law § 510 [3]).

I

Defendant was tried and convicted on a charge of criminal sale of a controlled substance in…