People State New York v. Timothy B. Cooper

[78 N.Y.2d 476 Page 478] Opinion OF THE COURT When a defendant's prior conviction raises the grade of an offense, and thus becomes an element of the higher grade offense, the Criminal Procedure Law -- reflecting a concern for potential prejudice and unfairness to the defendant in putting earlier convictions before the jury -- specifies a procedure for alleging and proving the prior convictions (CPL 200.60). This appeal requires us to construe CPL 200.60 in the context of a [78 N.Y.2d 476 Page 479]