People v Kent

Holding The court affirmed the conviction, holding that the trial court’s use of juror initials and numbers during voir dire was an unpreserved error that did not warrant the exercise of interest of justice jurisdiction. The court further rejected the ineffective assistance of counsel claim, finding that trial counsel’s failure to object to the procedure may have been a legitimate strategic decision to avoid alerting jurors to the deviation.

The court’s words

the deviation from statutory procedure does not implicate a mode of proceedings error and any challenge thereto is subject to ordinary preservation rules

2026 NY Slip Op 05441, at the official text

defense counsel was provided with a list of the prospective jurors' names prior to the start of jury selection, thereby enabling defendant to meaningfully participate in the voir dire process

2026 NY Slip Op 05441, at the official text

counsel's failure to object may have been a deliberate strategy given that the record indicates that he had a list of the prospective jurors' names

2026 NY Slip Op 05441, at the official text

By objecting, it could have been more prejudicial to defendant by alerting the prospective jurors to the deviation from normal procedure

2026 NY Slip Op 05441, at the official text