People v. Varella

—Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Harold Rothwax, J.), rendered June 17, 1992, convicting defendant, after jury trial, of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to a term of 5 to 10 years, unanimously affirmed.

The trial court duly balanced the probative value against the possible prejudicial effect of defendant’s prior convictions (People v Sandoval, 34 NY2d 371), and appropriately exercised its discretion in permitting limited cross-examination of defendant, should he testify, regarding two prior convictions for…