People v. McCann
| Decision Date | 06 March 2003 |
| Citation | 303 A.D.2d 780,756 N.Y.S.2d 337 |
| Parties | THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent,<BR>v.<BR>WILLIAM R. McCANN, Appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
A four-count indictment was handed up against defendant charging him with three counts of criminal contempt in the first degree and harassment in the second degree stemming from repeated telephone calls to his estranged wife in violation of an order of protection prohibiting such contact. Statements made by defendant during one of such calls were threatening in nature (i.e., defendant threatened to blow up his wife's house while she and her young child were in it). Defendant thereafter pleaded guilty to all counts.[*] Although defense counsel and the People jointly recommended that defendant be sentenced to 1½ to 3 years in prison, County Court made clear to defendant during the plea proceeding that, "in spite of the agreement that the District Attorney * * * made with [his] attorney, [the court] was not promising [him] anything" in terms of sentencing. Indeed, the court specifically advised defendant of the possibility that consecutive four-year prison terms could be imposed on two of the counts. Armed with this knowledge, defendant nevertheless opted to plead guilty. Sentenced to an aggregate prison term of 3 to 6 years, he now appeals.
Having failed to move to withdraw the plea or vacate the judgment of conviction, defendant's challenges to the voluntariness of his plea and competency of counsel are unpreserved for this Court's review (see People v Whitesell, 299 AD2d 654 [2002]; People v Fulford, 296 AD2d 661, 662 [2002]; People v Lopez, 295 AD2d 701 [2002]; People v Pelton, 289 AD2d 697 [2001], lv denied 97 NY2d 732 [2002]). Were we to consider these challenges, we would find each to be without merit. The record of the plea proceeding reveals that County Court adequately advised defendant of all relinquished rights in pleading guilty, which defendant indicated he understood. We are particularly unpersuaded by defendant's claim that neither County Court nor his attorney addressed obvious "questions" he had about the plea thus rendering it involuntary. While defendant made some innocuous comments in answering a few of the questions posed by County Court, the court readily refocused defendant to the matter at hand and then, at the conclusion of all questions and answers, gave him the opportunity to ask any questions of the court or his attorney. At this time, defendant responded that he had no questions. Under these circumstances, we would find no reason to disturb the judgment of conviction on the ground of an involuntary plea or ineffective assistance of counsel.
Next, we are equally unpersuaded by defendant's claim that the sentence was improper because it...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
People v. Kordish
...result, as a sentencing court may impose discretionary penalties that exceed the People's recommendation (see People v. McCann, 303 A.D.2d 780, 781, 756 N.Y.S.2d 337 ; see also People v. McKenzie, 28 A.D.3d 942, 943, 813 N.Y.S.2d 265 ; People v. Moore, 270 A.D.2d 715, 716, 705 N.Y.S.2d 425 ......
- People v. Davis