People v. Brown

134 A.D.3d 554, 20 N.Y.S.3d 888

Opinion

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Thomas Farber, J.), rendered November 1, 2011, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of assault in the first degree, and sentencing him to a determinate term of six years, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant’s unpreserved challenges to the validity of his plea do not come within the narrow exception to the preservation requirement (see People v Lopez, 71 NY2d 662, 665 [1988]), and we decline to review them in the interest of justice. As an alternative holding, we find that the plea was knowing, intelligent and voluntary. There was nothing before the plea court to warrant an inquiry into whether defendant’s mental condi tion impaired his ability to understand the plea proceedings, or into whether he affirmatively waived an insanity defense (see People v Diallo, 88 AD3d 511 [1st Dept 2011], lv denied 18 NY3d 882 [2012]). Unlike the situation in People v Mox (20 NY3d 936 [2012]), there was nothing in the plea allocution that triggered a duty to inquire into an potential psychiatric defense.

Although we do not find that defendant made a valid waiver of his right to appeal, we perceive no basis for reducing the sentence. Concur — Mazzarelli, J.P., Acosta, Moskowitz and Richter, JJ.