PEOPLE v. COOPER

Judgment unanimously affirmed. Memorandum: The sole issue raised on appeal is whether the trial court deprived defendant of a fair trial when it refused his request to hold a Sandoval hearing (People v Sandoval, 34 N.Y.2d 371) prior to jury selection. Although the preferable procedure may be for a Trial Judge to make an advance ruling on the use of prior criminal convictions for impeachment purposes so as not to handicap the preparation of the defense (see, People v Davis, 44 N.Y.2d 269, 276, n 3; see also, United States v Oakes, 565 F.2d 170, 173; United States v Jackson, 405 F. Supp. 938), we perceive no abuse of discretion here by the Trial Judge or prejudice to the defendant sufficient to warrant reversal.