People v. Alvarez

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed. After a jury trial, defendant was convicted of criminal possession and sale of a controlled substance in the third degree. On appeal, defendant challenged the court’s Allen charge to the jury as being improper. The Appellate Division rejected defendant’s contention.

The record indicates that the Allen charge when taken as a whole was proper. The initial charge stressed the importance of reaching a verdict without forcing any juror to yield a conscientious belief (see, People v Ali, 65 AD2d 513, 514, affd 47…