People v. Velasco

OPINION OF THE COURT

Defendant has been convicted of manslaughter in the first *472degree (Penal Law § 125.20 [1]), a charge arising from an altercation in which he stabbed Raymond Nelson with a "Ninja knife”. He seeks reversal of the judgment because (1) he was absent from material stages of the trial proceedings and, (2) the court failed to properly instruct the jury.

Defendant’s first claim concerns his absence from a precharge conference, a side-bar voir dire, and a conference in the robing room to discuss peremptory challenges and challenges for cause. He claims that as a result of these…