People v. McDonald

296 A.D.2d 13, 745 N.Y.S.2d 276, 2002 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7457
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York·Decided July 18, 2002·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Spain, J.

Defendant is a citizen of Jamaica who apparently has resided in the United States as a lawful permanent resident for in excess of 20 years.1 He is the father of three children born in this country, whose mother — also a United States citizen — he married in 1999. In May 1999, an eight-count indictment was [15] handed up by a Tompkins County grand jury accusing defendant of committing criminal sale of marihuana in the third degree and criminal possession of marihuana in the fifth degree on April 26, 1999, committing these same offenses again on April 28, 1999, committing criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third and fourth degrees on May 5, 1999, as well as criminal possession of marihuana in the third degree and criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree. The charges stem from two controlled buys of marihuana (40.53 grams and 41.50 grams) from defendant in April 1999 by an undercover officer of the State Police on the Cornell University campus in the City of Ithaca, Tompkins County, where defendant was employed. On May 5, 1999, defendant was arrested and the execution of a search warrant for his apartment revealed one-third ounce of cocaine, 9.4 ounces of marihuana and an electric scale.

Following County Court’s denial of defendant’s motion to suppress the physical evidence, defendant, accompanied by counsel, entered a plea of guilty to criminal sale of marihuana in the third degree (Penal Law § 221.45) for the April 26, 1999 sale of marihuana and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree (Penal Law § 220.16 [1]) for his May 5, 1999 possession of cocaine at his apartment, in full satisfaction of all charges. During the plea colloquy, County Court advised defendant of many of the rights he would be foregoing by pleading guilty and engaged in questioning defendant to ascertain that he understood the ramifications of the plea. Defendant admitted the conduct underlying the charges and waived his right to appeal.

Defendant was thereafter sentenced in accordance with the plea agreement to concurrent indeterminate prison terms of 1 to 3 years. The next day, according to defendant’s appellate counsel, the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (hereinafter INS) served defendant with notice of a deportation hearing as a result of his conviction for aggravated felonies pursuant to 8 USC § 1227 (a) (2) (A) (iii); § 1229 (b); and § 1101 (a) (43) (B), and other statutory provisions. Approximately seven weeks later, defendant’s trial counsel moved on defendant’s behalf to permit defendant to withdraw his guilty plea and vacate the judgment of conviction pursuant to CPL 440.10 (1) (h), contending that County Court had failed to advise defendant, as required by CPL 220.50 (7), that as a non-United States citizen, his guilty plea could result in deportation, and defendant had been denied effective assistance of [16] counsel. In support, defendant’s trial counsel submitted an affidavit candidly admitting that he had incorrectly advised defendant that his guilty plea “would not result in deportation because of the [d]efendant’s lengthy residence in the United States and the fact his three children were born and reside in the United States,” which was “plainly in error” because defendant is subject to mandatory deportation for these convictions. Trial counsel also averred that the District Attorney had rendered essentially the same misadvice to trial counsel during plea negotiations, which trial counsel communicated to defendant. Trial counsel stated that defendant had “maintained his innocence” and “testified to the Grand Jury on his own behalf,” but had entered his plea “in reliance on” the “affirmative mis-statements and legal errors” of his trial counsel, which he argued rendered defendant’s plea constitutionally invalid. Trial counsel failed to submit any affidavit from defendant on that motion.2

The People opposed the motion, contending that the failure of County Court to advise defendant about the possibility of deportation under CPL 220.50 (7) did not affect the voluntariness of his plea or the validity of his conviction. With regard to trial counsel’s misadvice to defendant, the District Attorney argued that it was a promise outside of the record which courts refuse to recognize where, during the plea, defendant disavowed that any other promises had been made. Moreover, the District Attorney disclaimed ever misadvising defense counsel that defendant’s guilty plea would not result in deportation, and instead averred that when the issue of deportation was raised, he had told counsel that he was not knowledgeable about immigration matters, that trial counsel should contact INS, but offered his “general understanding that long-term resident aliens had better chances of resisting deportation than short-term aliens.” The People contended further that defendant had failed to demonstrate any prejudice flowing from the misadvice, i.e., that the outcome of a trial would have been any different, so as to entitle him to vacatur of the plea. County Court denied defendant’s motion without a hearing “[f]or the reasons set forth in the People’s response.” Defendant now appeals from the judgment of conviction and, with permission, from the order denying his motion to vacate the judgment of conviction.

[17] As an initial matter, defendant’s appeal is not foreclosed by his execution of a waiver of appeal, inasmuch as his claims address the voluntariness of his guilty plea and were preserved by his motion to vacate the plea (see, People v Seaberg, 74 NY2d 1, 10; People v Conyers, 227 AD2d 793, 793, lv denied 88 NY2d 982). Turning to defendant’s first claim, County Court’s failure to advise defendant during the plea colloquy of the possibility of deportation does not affect the voluntariness of the guilty plea or require vacating the plea. In People v Ford (86 NY2d 397, 403) — which did not involve the application of CPL 220.50 (7) — the Court of Appeals held that deportation is a collateral, not a direct, consequence of a conviction and, thus, the trial court is not required to advise a defendant of this possible consequence prior to accepting a plea of guilty (see, People v Latham, 90 NY2d 795, 798; People v Goss, 286 AD2d 180, 182-184; People v Villanueva, 255 AD2d 406, 407, lv denied 92 NY2d 1040). Also, CPL 220.50 (7) — while mandating that the trial court, prior to accepting a plea of guilty to certain felonies, advise a defendant that if he or she is not a United States citizen his or her plea and the court’s acceptance of it may result in, inter alia, the defendant’s deportation— expressly provides that failure of the court to so advise a defendant “shall not be deemed to affect the voluntariness of a plea of guilty or the validity of a conviction” (see, People v Bolivar, 169 Misc 2d 458, 462-463; see also, People v Ford, supra at 404 n). Although defendant’s contention directed at County Court’s failure to advise him of deportation consequences is unavailing, the mandate of CPL 220.50 (7) does not apply to his second claim regarding trial counsel’s misadvice and affirmative misstatements to him regarding the deportation consequences of his guilty plea, a distinctive effective assistance of counsel issue expressly left open by the Court of Appeals in People v Ford (supra at 405).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

People v. McDonald, 296 A.D.2d 13, 745 N.Y.S.2d 276, 2002 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7457 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2002).

296 A.D.2d 13 (People v. McDonald) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

People v. Lantigua
2020 NY Slip Op 2557 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2020)
People v. Burgos
37 Misc. 3d 394 (New York Supreme Court, 2012)
People v. De Jesus
34 Misc. 3d 748 (New York Supreme Court, 2011)
People v. Sepulveda
65 A.D.3d 754 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2009)
People v. Thomas
23 Misc. 3d 701 (Criminal Court of the City of New York, 2009)
People v. Hall
16 A.D.3d 848 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2005)
People v. McDonald
802 N.E.2d 131 (New York Court of Appeals, 2003)
People v. Johnson
303 A.D.2d 830 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2003)
People v. Jian Jing Huang
302 A.D.2d 90 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2002)
People v. Williams
299 A.D.2d 580 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2002)
State v. Zarate
651 N.W.2d 215 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 2002)