People v. Miller, 108171

• Decision Date: 29 November 2018
• Docket Number: 108171
• Citation: 88 N.Y.S.3d 696,166 A.D.3d 1385
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Demonte N. MILLER, Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

166 A.D.3d 1385

88 N.Y.S.3d 696

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent,

v.Demonte N. MILLER, Appellant.

108171

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

Calendar Date: October 15, 2018

Decided and Entered: November 29, 2018

Harvey C. Silverstein, Latham, for appellant.

P. David Soares, District Attorney, Albany (Vincent Stark of counsel), for respondent.

Before: McCarthy, J.P., Egan Jr., Devine, Clark and Aarons, JJ.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Egan Jr., J.

In October 2014, defendant was indicted and charged with six counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree and, in February 2015, a second indictment was returned charging defendant with one count of robbery in the first degree. Additional charges followed and, after defendant twice failed to appear before Supreme Court, his bail was revoked. In full satisfaction of both indictments and other pending charges, defendant thereafter agreed to plead guilty to one count of attempted robbery in the first degree with the understanding that he would be sentenced to a prison term of 14 years followed by five years of postrelease supervision. The plea agreement also required defendant to waive his right to appeal. Following a detailed plea colloquy, defendant pleaded guilty to the reduced robbery charge, and the matter was adjourned for sentencing. Defendant subsequently asked that sentencing be delayed because he wanted to hire "a brand new attorney" – citing retained counsel's alleged failure to respond to his inquiries regarding the seizure of his vehicle and the forfeiture of certain bail moneys – and informed Supreme Court that he was considering withdrawing his plea. Supreme Court denied defendant's request for an adjournment and thereafter sentenced defendant as a second felony offender to the agreed-upon term of imprisonment. This appeal ensued.

Preliminarily, we agree with defendant that his waiver of the right to appeal is invalid. Supreme Court did not explain the separate and distinct nature of the waiver, and its brief colloquy with defendant was insufficient to establish "that defendant appreciated the right that he was relinquishing and understood the consequences thereof" ( People v. Mallard , 163 A.D.3d 1350, 1351, 82 N.Y.S.3d 653 [2018], lv denied 32 N.Y.3d 1066, ––– N.Y.S.3d ––––, ––– N.E.3d ––––, 2018 WL 6033570 [Oct. 4, 2018] ; see People v. Brewster , 161 A.D.3d 1309, 1310, 77 N.Y.S.3d 205 [2018] ; People v. Thompson , 157 A.D.3d 1141, 1141, 69 N.Y.S.3d 744 [2018] ). Although defendant executed a written waiver in open court after conferring with counsel, Supreme Court did not ascertain whether defendant read the waiver or understood the consequences thereof (see People v. McClain , 161 A.D.3d 1457, 1458, 77 N.Y.S.3d 752 [2018] ; People v. Rock , 151 A.D.3d 1383, 1384, 58 N.Y.S.3d 628 [2017], lv denied 30 N.Y.3d 953, 67 N.Y.S.3d 136, 89 N.E.3d 526 [2017] ; People v. Williams , 132 A.D.3d 1155, 1155, 20 N.Y.S.3d 176 [2015], lv denied 27 N.Y.3d 1157, 39 N.Y.S.3d 390, 62 N.E.3d 130 [2016] ). Given the invalid waiver, defendant's challenge to the severity of the agreed-upon sentence imposed is not foreclosed (see People v. Callender , 164 A.D.3d 962, 963, 77 N.Y.S.3d 911 [2018] ). That said, given defendant's lengthy criminal history and the fact that he received a favorable plea agreement that resolved a number of pending charges, we discern no extraordinary circumstances or abuse of discretion warranting a reduction of the sentence in the interest of justice (see generally People v. Suddard , 164 A.D.3d 950, 951, 77 N.Y.S.3d 910 [2018] ; People v. Ruise , 131 A.D.3d 1328, 1328, 16 N.Y.S.3d 783 [2015] ).

Nor are we persuaded that Supreme Court abused its discretion in denying defendant's request for an adjournment of sentencing in order to retain substitute counsel. Although "criminal defendants have a constitutional right to be represented by counsel of their own choosing and must be accorded a reasonable opportunity to select and retain such counsel ..., this right is qualified in the sense that a defendant may not employ such right as a means to delay judicial proceedings" ( People v. O'Daniel , 105 A.D.3d 1144, 1146, 963 N.Y.S.2d 737 [2013] [internal quotation marks, brackets and citations omitted], affd 24 N.Y.3d 134, 996 N.Y.S.2d 580, 21 N.E.3d 209 [2014] ; see People v. Singleton , 163 A.D.3d 1272, 1273, 81 N.Y.S.3d 663 [2018] ; People v. Orminski , 108 A.D.3d 864, 865, 968 N.Y.S.2d 266 [2013], lv denied 22 N.Y.3d 958, 977 N.Y.S.2d 189, 999 N.E.2d 554 [2013] ; see also People v. Nelson , 1 A.D.3d 796, 797, 767 N.Y.S.2d 512 [2003], lv denied 1 N.Y.3d 631, 777 N.Y.S.2d 30, 808 N.E.2d 1289 [2004] ). Accordingly, "a request to change counsel previously retained or assigned must be addressed to the trial court's discretion to insure that the defendant's purported exercise of the right does not serve to delay or obstruct" the proceedings before the court ( People v. Orminski , 108 A.D.3d at 865, 968 N.Y.S.2d 266 [internal quotation marks, brackets and citation omitted] ).

After assuring Supreme Court during the course of the plea colloquy that he was satisfied with retained counsel's services, defendant appeared at sentencing approximately six weeks later and indicated that he wished to retain a new attorney – citing counsel's failure to (1) obtain an adjournment so that defendant could get married, (2) adequately explain the effect of the advantageous plea resolution secured by counsel, which disposed of the other indictment and all remaining charges then pending against defendant, and (3) respond to defendant's inquiries regarding the seizure of his vehicle and the forfeiture of certain bail moneys. Defendant, however, did not offer a reasonable explanation for his delay in pursuing such relief, and his postplea...