Opinion
January 19, 1999.
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Dorothy Cropper, J.).
Defendant's claim that he was denied effective assistance of counsel raises, in large part, issues pertaining to defense counsel's trial strategy that cannot be reviewed on this record and would require expansion of the record by way of a CPL 440.10 motion ( People v. Gomez, 255 A.D.2d 246). The existing record reveals that defendant received meaningful representation ( People v. Benevento, 91 N.Y.2d 708), and completely fails to support defendant's present argument that his trial counsel should have pursued lines of defense relating to defendant's purported drug intoxication. "Counsel may not be expected to create a defense when it does not exist" ( People v. DeFreitas, 213 A.D.2d 96, 101, lv denied 86 N.Y.2d 872).
Concur — Williams, J.P., Wallach, Andrias and Saxe, JJ.