People v. Austin

• Decision Date: 21 July 2016
• Citation: 35 N.Y.S.3d 580,141 A.D.3d 956,2016 N.Y. Slip Op. 05595
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Christopher AUSTIN, Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

141 A.D.3d 956

35 N.Y.S.3d 580

2016 N.Y. Slip Op. 05595

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent,

v.Christopher AUSTIN, Appellant.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, New York.

July 21, 2016.

Susan Patnode, Rural Law Center of New York, Castleton (Kelly L. Egan of counsel), for appellant.

Mary E. Rain, District Attorney, Canton (Jonathan Jirik, Law Intern), for respondent.

Before: LAHTINEN, J.P., EGAN JR., LYNCH, DEVINE and MULVEY, JJ.

MULVEY, J.

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of St. Lawrence County (Richards, J.), rendered February 11, 2014, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of burglary in the third degree.

In August 2012, in satisfaction of various charges against him, defendant signed an appeal waiver in open court and pleaded guilty to the crime of burglary in the third degree. The plea agreement contemplated that defendant would enter into the judicial diversion program and that, if he failed to complete the program, he could face 3 ½ to 7 years in prison. In November 2013, after multiple unsuccessful attempts at treatment, defendant was charged with violating the terms of the judicial diversion program contract and was terminated from the program after waiving his right to a hearing and admitting that he had violated those terms in numerous respects. County Court sentenced defendant as a second felony offender to a prison term of 3 to 6 years. Defendant now appeals.

We affirm. Initially, we reject defendant's contention that his plea was not knowing, voluntary and intelligent because County Court failed to explain a direct consequence of his plea—specifically, the “specific period” that he was required to participate in “substance abuse treatment” as part of judicial diversion program (see CPL 216.05[5] ; People v. Monk, 21 N.Y.3d 27, 32, 966 N.Y.S.2d 739, 989 N.E.2d 1 [2013] ; People v. Harnett, 16 N.Y.3d 200, 205–206, 920 N.Y.S.2d 246, 945 N.E.2d 439 [2011] ). “ [I]nasmuch as the duration of his treatment regimen was not an immediate, definite or automatic result of his guilty plea but, rather, was fashioned by the judicial diversion program outside of County Court's control in response to defendant's particular treatment needs and his ongoing response to that treatment, it was a collateral consequence of his plea subject to the preservation requirement” (People v. Smith, 136 A.D.3d 1107, 1108, 25 N.Y.S.3d 395 [2016] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted], lv. denied 27 N.Y.3d 1075, ––– N.Y.S.3d ––––, –––N.E.3d –––– [2016] ; see People v. Peque, 22 N.Y.3d 168, 184, 980 N.Y.S.2d 280, 3 N.E.3d 617 [2013] ; People v. Monk, 21 N.Y.3d at 32, 966 N.Y.S.2d 739, 989 N.E.2d 1 ). To that end, defendant's challenge to the voluntariness of his plea was not preserved due to his failure to seek appropriate postallocution relief (see People v. Labaff, 127 A.D.3d 1471, 1471, 7 N.Y.S.3d 682 [2015], lv. denied 26 N.Y.3d 931, 17 N.Y.S.3d 94, 38 N.E.3d 840 [2015] ; People v. Disotell, 123 A.D.3d 1230, 1231, 999 N.Y.S.2d 240 [2014], lv. denied 25 N.Y.3d 1162, 15 N.Y.S.3d 294, 36 N.E.3d 97 [2015] ). Indeed, defendant did not challenge the voluntariness of his plea until this appeal and after having admitted to failing to comply with the terms of the judicial diversion program contract (see People v. Smith, 136 A.D.3d at 1108, 25 N.Y.S.3d 395; People v. Donovan, 94 A.D.3d 1230, 1231, 941 N.Y.S.2d 804 [2012] ). Contrary to defendant's further contention, he did not make any statements during the plea colloquy that cast doubt upon his guilt or negated an essential element of the crime so as to trigger the narrow exception to the preservation rule or obligate County Court to inquire as to a potential intoxication defense (see People v. Buck, 136 A.D.3d 1117, 1118 n. 2, 25 N.Y.S.3d 402 [2016] ; People v. Pearson, 110 A.D.3d 1116, 1116, 972 N.Y.S.2d 359 [2013] ; People v. Jones, 73 A.D.3d 1386, 1387, 900 N.Y.S.2d 797 [2010] ; People v. Phillips, 30 A.D.3d 911, 911, 819 N.Y.S.2d 129 [2006], lv. denied 7 N.Y.3d 869, 824 N.Y.S.2d 614, 857 N.E.2d 1145 [2006] ).

Concerning defendant's challenge to the sentence imposed, we find that the appeal waiver was knowing, voluntary and intelligent (see People v. Lopez, 6 N.Y.3d 248, 256, 811 N.Y.S.2d 623, 844 N.E.2d 1145 [2006] ), and, therefore, defendant is precluded from challenging his sentence as harsh and excessive (see People v. Lopez, 6 N.Y.3d at 256, 811 N.Y.S.2d 623, 844 N.E.2d 1145 ; People v. Jackson, 128 A.D.3d 1279, 1280, 9 N.Y.S.3d 739 [2015], lv. denied 26 N.Y.3d 930, 17 N.Y.S.3d 93, 38 N.E.3d 839 [2015] ; People v. Mills, 85 A.D.3d 1448, 1448, 925 N.Y.S.2d 904 [2011] ; People v. Sofia, 62 A.D.3d 1159, 1160, 881 N.Y.S.2d 185 [2009] ). As for defendant's ineffective assistance of counsel claim, even assuming such claim impacts upon the voluntariness of his plea and, hence, survives his valid waiver of appeal (see People v. Clark, 135 A.D.3d 1239, 1240, 23 N.Y.S.3d 481 [2016], lv. denied 27 N.Y.3d 995, ––– N.Y.S.3d ––––, ––– N.E.3d –––– [2016] ; People v. Buswell,

88 A.D.3d 1164, 1164, 931 N.Y.S.2d 543 [2011] ), there is no indication on this record that defendant made an appropriate postallocution motion. Accordingly, this issue is unpreserved for our review (see

People v. Smalls, 128 A.D.3d 1281, 1282, 8 N.Y.S.3d 614 [2015], lv. denied 27 N.Y.3d 1006, ––– N.Y.S.3d ––––, ––– N.E.3d –––– [2016] ; People v. Broomfield, 128 A.D.3d 1271, 1272, 9 N.Y.S.3d 733 [2015], lv. denied 26 N.Y.3d 1086, 23 N.Y.S.3d 643, 44 N.E.3d 941 [2015] ). Even if we were to consider defendant's contention that counsel's...