People v. Bradshaw

76 A.D.2d 566, 906 N.Y.S.2d 93

This text of 76 A.D.2d 566 (People v. Bradshaw) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Bradshaw, 76 A.D.2d 566, 906 N.Y.S.2d 93 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Mullen, J.), rendered May 5, 2008, convicting him of rape in the first degree, upon his plea of guilty, and imposing sentence. The appeal brings up for review the denial, after a hearing, of suppression of identification testimony.

Ordered that the judgment is reversed, on the law, the plea is vacated, the identification testimony is suppressed, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Kings County, for further proceedings consistent herewith.

On the day after the Supreme Court denied suppression of identification testimony, the defendant agreed to plead guilty to rape in the first degree in exchange for a promised determinate sentence of nine years of imprisonment. During the course of the ensuing plea allocution, the Supreme Court advised the defendant of the terms of its sentencing commitment, and briefly explained that he would be waiving his right to appeal, as follows:

“the court: Let me just put the whole plea on the record. You will be pleading guilty to rape in the first degree, with a promised sentence of nine years . . . There’s a period of something called post release supervision that follows it. And there are a couple of fines, which I do not have the authority to waive, of $270, but that will come out of inmate funds.
[567]*567“There’s a waiver of the right to appeal. What that means, the conviction here is final, that there is not a higher court you can take it to. Do you understand that?
“the defendant: The waiver—I mean the money fee, is this the same fee that—
“the court: There will be one in each county.
“[defense counsel]: They will take it out of inmate funds.
“the court: Do you understand that?
“the defendant: Yes.
“the court: Now, do you read and write English, sir?
“the defendant: Yes.”

Although the defendant was asked directly by the Supreme Court whether he understood the nature of the waiver of the right to appeal, the defendant instead responded by asking the Supreme Court a question about the mandatory fees that would be imposed upon him as a result of his conviction. The defendant did not acknowledge in any manner that he understood the nature of the waiver. After both the Supreme Court and defense counsel attempted to clarify the fee issue, the Supreme Court asked the defendant whether he understood the explanation, and he replied “yes.” The defendant further stated, in response to the Supreme Court’s inquiry, that although he had previously been confined to a hospital for mental illness, he now felt well psychologically. At the conclusion of the plea allocution, the Supreme Court asked whether a written waiver of the right to appeal had been signed, and defense counsel handed the Supreme Court a waiver form, stating that the defendant had executed the waiver form, and that counsel had witnessed it. Nowhere in this record is there any indication that, prior to signing the waiver, the defendant had been advised of his right to take an appeal, that the defendant understood the nature of the waiver, or that the defendant’s waiver was executed voluntarily and knowingly. To the contrary, the defendant claimed, at sentencing, that his attorney had coerced him into pleading guilty and had misinformed him of the consequences of doing so, and claimed that his attorney had not provided him “with the proper paperwork,” but instead led him to believe that he would “receive a MICA [Mental Illness and Controlled-Substance Abuse] therapeutic program.” Additionally, the Supreme Court did not question the defendant about the writ[568]*568ten waiver, and did not ascertain on the record that he understood its contents.

On appeal, the defendant contends that his waiver of the right to appeal is not enforceable because the Supreme Court provided virtually no explanation regarding the waiver and took no measures to ensure that he, a first felony offender with a history of mental illness, understood it and was validly waiving his right to appeal. We agree.

In People v Seaberg (74 NY2d 1, 10 [1989]), the Court of Appeals first recognized that “the public interest concerns underlying plea bargains generally are served by enforcing waivers of the right to appeal,” observing that “the negotiating process serves little purpose if the terms of a carefully orchestrated bargain can subsequently be challenged” (internal quotation marks omitted). However, “the Seaberg opinion makes clear that a waiver of the right to appeal will not be enforced unless it was knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily made” (People v Callahan, 80 NY2d 273, 280 [1992], citing People v Seaberg, 74 NY2d at 11). This determination must be made in the first instance by the trial court, which is in the best position to assess all of the relevant factors, including the reasonableness of the bargain, and the age and experience of the accused (see People v Callahan, 80 NY2d at 280; People v Seaberg, 74 NY2d at 11). Appellate courts are also entrusted with the responsibility to oversee the plea bargaining process, and must examine the record to ensure that the defendant’s waiver of the right to appeal reflects a knowing and voluntary choice (see People v Callahan, 80 NY2d at 280). “While there is no requirement that the trial court engage in any particular litany in order to satisfy itself that these standards have been met, a knowing and voluntary waiver cannot be inferred from a silent record” (People v DeSimone, decided sub nom. People v Callahan, 80 NY2d at 283).

In People v DeSimone, the prosecutor informed the trial court that the defendant had signed a written waiver of the right to appeal his sentence as. a condition of his plea agreement. However, the court made no mention of the written waiver during the plea allocution. In finding that the waiver was unenforceable, the Court of Appeals noted that there was no record discussion between the trial court and the defendant concerning the waiver, and that the trial court had not even made an attempt “to ascertain on the record an acknowledgment from defendant that he had, in fact, signed the waiver or that, if he had, he was aware of its contents” (People v DeSimone, 80 NY2d at 283). Furthermore, there was nothing on the record to establish that [569]*569the trial court was familiar with the circumstances surrounding the execution of the written waiver. Under these circumstances, the Court of Appeals concluded that “there is no assurance that the waiver was executed under constitutionally acceptable circumstances” (id.).

In the case at bar, we are mindful of the fact that the written waiver signed by the defendant recited that he had been advised by the Supreme Court and by his attorney of the “nature of the rights” he was giving up, and explained that the right to appeal included, inter alia, the right to prosecute the appeal as a poor person, the right to have an attorney assigned in the event the defendant was indigent, and the right to submit a brief and/or argue before an appellate court any issues relating to the defendant’s conviction and sentence.

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Bluebook (online)
76 A.D.2d 566, 906 N.Y.S.2d 93, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-bradshaw-nyappdiv-2010.