Defendant's argument that the People failed to prove his knowledge of the weight of the drugs in his possession, as required by People v. Ryan ( 82 N.Y.2d 497), is unpreserved for appellate review as a matter of law by appropriate objection to the court's charge of a motion to dismiss specifically directed at the alleged insufficiency ( People v. Gray, 86 A.D.2d 11) and we decline to review the issue in the interest of justice.
Likewise unpreserved is defendant's claim that the trial court improperly discharged a sworn juror prior to the completion of jury selection, defendant having failed to put his specific objections on the record before the juror left the courtroom at a time when the court could have corrected the claimed error ( see, People v. Jackson, 189 A.D.2d 563, lv denied 81 N.Y.2d 887), and we decline to review the issue in the interest of justice. If we were to do so, we would find that the court's authority to discharge a juror under CPL 270.15 (3) prior to impanelment is not, as defendant argues, limited to instances of "illness or other incapacity", and is as broad as it is under CPL 270.35 to discharge after impanelment.
Concur — Murphy, P.J., Rubin, Ross, Williams and Tom, JJ.