People v. Messam

Contrary to defendant’s argument, his conviction was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of the evidence. The conviction of assault in the second degree required the People to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim suffered a “serious physical injury” (Penal Law § 120.05 [1]), a term that the Penal Law defines as “physical injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes death or serious and protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of health or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ” (Penal Law § 10.00…