People v. Griffith

• Decision Date: 30 November 2010
• Citation: 913 N.Y.S.2d 264,78 A.D.3d 1194
• Parties: The PEOPLE, etc., respondent, v. Darwin GRIFFITH, appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

913 N.Y.S.2d 264
78 A.D.3d 1194

The PEOPLE, etc., respondent,
v.
Darwin GRIFFITH, appellant.

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

Nov. 30, 2010.

913 N.Y.S.2d 265

Lynn W.L. Fahey, New York, N.Y., for appellant.

Charles J. Hynes, District Attorney, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Leonard Joblove, Joyce Slevin, and Bruce Alderman of counsel), for respondent.

STEVEN W. FISHER, J.P., DANIEL D. ANGIOLILLO, ARIEL E. BELEN, and LEONARD B. AUSTIN, JJ.

78 A.D.3d 1195

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Chun, J.), rendered March 18, 2009, convicting him of conspiracy in the second degree and criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, upon his plea of guilty, and imposing sentence.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.

Generally, vacatur of a plea of guilty is not lightly granted since such a plea is intended to "mark[ ] the end of a criminal case" and should not be the path toward further litigation ( People v. Taylor, 65 N.Y.2d 1, 5, 489 N.Y.S.2d 152, 478 N.E.2d 755). "When a defendant moves to withdraw a guilty plea, the 'fact-finding procedures' to be followed 'rest largely in the discretion of the Judge to whom the motion is made' " ( People v. Baret, 11 N.Y.3d 31, 33, 862 N.Y.S.2d 446, 892 N.E.2d 839, quoting People v. Tinsley, 35 N.Y.2d 926, 927, 365 N.Y.S.2d 161, 324 N.E.2d 544; see CPL 220.60[3]; People v. Alexander, 97 N.Y.2d 482, 485, 743 N.Y.S.2d 45, 769 N.E.2d 802; People v. Moss, 70 A.D.3d 862, 894 N.Y.S.2d 123). A plea of guilty will be upheld as valid if it was voluntarily, intelligently, and knowingly made ( see People v. Fiumefreddo, 82 N.Y.2d 536, 543, 605 N.Y.S.2d 671, 626 N.E.2d 646; People v. Lopez, 71 N.Y.2d 662, 666, 529 N.Y.S.2d 465, 525 N.E.2d 5). Only rarely is a defendant entitled to a full evidentiary hearing on a motion to withdraw the plea ( see People v. Tinsley, 35 N.Y.2d at 927, 365 N.Y.S.2d 161, 324 N.E.2d 544). Instead, it is sufficient if the court affords the defendant an opportunity to present his arguments with respect to withdrawal ( see People v. Tinsley, 35 N.Y.2d 926, 365 N.Y.S.2d 161, 324 N.E.2d 544; People v. Fiumefreddo, 82 N.Y.2d at 543, 605 N.Y.S.2d 671, 626 N.E.2d 646). Unsubstantiated and conclusory assertions of innocence and coercion that are contradicted by the record are insufficient to warrant withdrawal or a hearing ( see People v. Wiedmer, 71 A.D.3d 1067, 896 N.Y.S.2d 686; People v. Potter, 294 A.D.2d 603, 742 N.Y.S.2d 584; People v....