People v. Singleton

129 A.D.3d 748, 8 N.Y.S.3d 915

• Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
• Decided: June 3, 2015
• Docket: 2013-09298
• Status: Published

Opinion

Appeals by the defendant, as limited by his motion, from three sentences of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Jeong, J.), all imposed December 20, 2012.

Ordered that the sentences are affirmed.

The defendant’s purported waiver of his right to appeal was invalid (see People v Lopez, 6 NY3d 248, 256 [2006]; People v Brown, 122 AD3d 133 [2014]). The record does not demonstrate that the defendant “grasped the concept of the appeal waiver and the nature of the right he was forgoing” (People v Bradshaw, 18 NY3d 257, 267 [2011]; see People v Michael, 120 AD3d 713 [2014]; People v Johnson, 113 AD3d 635 [2014]). Notwithstanding the defendant’s execution of the written waiver form, it cannot be said that he knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his right to appeal (see People v Brown, 122 AD3d at 145-146) and, therefore, review of his excessive sentence claims is not precluded.

The sentences imposed were not excessive (see People v Suitte, 90 AD2d 80 [1982]).

Eng, P.J., Dillon, Leventhal, Hinds-Radix and LaSalle, JJ., concur.