People v. Horton

Citation173 A.D.3d 1342,102 N.Y.S.3d 761
Decision Date13 June 2019
Docket Number108938
Parties The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Benjamin HORTON, Appellant.
CourtNew York Supreme Court Appellate Division

173 A.D.3d 1342
102 N.Y.S.3d 761

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent,
v.
Benjamin HORTON, Appellant.

108938

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

Calendar Date: May 1, 2019
Decided and Entered: June 13, 2019


102 N.Y.S.3d 762

Brian M. Quinn, Albany, for appellant, and appellant pro se.

Karen A. Heggen, District Attorney, Ballston Spa (Gordon W. Eddy of counsel), for respondent.

Before: Egan Jr., J.P., Lynch, Devine, Aarons and Rumsey, JJ.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Devine, J.

173 A.D.3d 1342

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Saratoga County (Murphy III, J.), rendered October 20, 2016, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of criminal sexual act in the first degree.

Defendant was charged in a nine-count indictment with various offenses related to his sexual abuse of an 11–year–old victim. In full satisfaction of the indictment, he pleaded guilty to a reduced count of criminal sexual act in the first degree and waived his right to appeal. The plea agreement provided that he would be sentenced to 20 years in prison and a period

173 A.D.3d 1343

of postrelease supervision, the sentence to run concurrently with that imposed in a related Schenectady County matter ( People v. Horton, 173 A.D.3d 1342, 102 N.Y.S.3d 761, 2019 WL 2454830 [2019] [appeal No. 108938, decided herewith] ). County Court thereafter sentenced defendant to a prison term of 20 years to be followed by postrelease supervision of 20 years. Defendant appeals, and we affirm.

Initially, defendant was alerted at the outset of the plea colloquy that an appeal waiver was a condition of the plea agreement. County Court explained that his right to appeal was separate and distinct from the trial-related rights that he was giving up by pleading guilty, and defendant agreed that he wished to waive it. Defendant also executed a detailed written waiver in which he acknowledged that he had fully discussed the matter with counsel,

102 N.Y.S.3d 763

and he confirmed to County Court that he had read, understood and signed the document. Contrary to defendant's contention, the foregoing establishes that his appeal waiver was knowing, intelligent and voluntary (see People v. Lopez, 6 N.Y.3d 248, 257, 811 N.Y.S.2d 623, 844 N.E.2d 1145 [2006] ; People v. Cherry, 166 A.D.3d 1220, 1221, 86 N.Y.S.3d 355 [2018] ; People v. James, 155 A.D.3d 1094, 1095, 64 N.Y.S.3d 350 [2017], lv denied 30 N.Y.3d 1116, 77 N.Y.S.3d 341, 101 N.E.3d 982 [2018] ). As such, he is precluded from challenging the severity of his sentence (see People v. Lopez, 6 N.Y.3d at 256, 811 N.Y.S.2d 623, 844 N.E.2d 1145 ).

Defendant next questions the voluntariness of his plea, a claim that survives his valid appeal waiver but is unpreserved in light of his apparent failure to make "an appropriate postallocution...

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  • People v. Dickinson
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • April 16, 2020
    ...crimes on the 13–year–old victim, we find that the ultimate 182 A.D.3d 791 sentence was not harsh or excessive (see People v. Horton, 173 A.D.3d at 1342, 104 N.Y.S.3d 363 ; People v. Wicks, 73 A.D.3d 1233, 1237, 900 N.Y.S.2d 485 [2010], lv denied 15 N.Y.3d 857, 909 N.Y.S.2d 34, 935 N.E.2d 8......
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  • People v. Simpson
    • United States
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    • July 29, 2021
    ...181 A.D.3d 1091, 1093, 120 N.Y.S.3d 522 [2020], lv denied 35 N.Y.3d 1026, 126 N.Y.S.3d 31, 149 N.E.3d 869 [2020] ; People v. Horton, 173 A.D.3d 1342, 1343, 102 N.Y.S.3d 761 [2019], lv denied 34 N.Y.3d 932, 933, 109 N.Y.S.3d 701, 133 N.E.3d 401, 402 [2019]). Although the dissent proposes tha......
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    ..."[t]he record that is before us" reveals that defendant received meaningful representation from his first counsel ( People v. Horton, 173 A.D.3d at 1342, 104 N.Y.S.3d 363 ; see generally 117 N.Y.S.3d 364 People v. Baldi, 54 N.Y.2d 137, 147, 444 N.Y.S.2d 893, 429 N.E.2d 400 [1981] ). Defenda......
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