People v. Mitchell

• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
• Writing for the Court: MAZZARELLI
• Citation: People v. Mitchell, 89 A.D.3d 628, 933 N.Y.S.2d 271, 2011 N.Y. Slip Op. 8632 (N.Y. App. Div. 2011)
• Decision Date: 29 November 2011
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Robert MITCHELL, Defendant–Appellant.

2011 N.Y. Slip Op. 08632

89 A.D.3d 628

933 N.Y.S.2d 271

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent,

v.Robert MITCHELL, Defendant–Appellant.

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

Nov. 29, 2011.

Richard M. Greenberg, Office of the Appellate Defender, New York (Matthew I. Fleischman of counsel), for appellant.

Robert T. Johnson, District Attorney, Bronx (Jean Soo Park of counsel), for respondent.

MAZZARELLI, J.P., ANDRIAS, FRIEDMAN, CATTERSON, FREEDMAN, JJ.

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Megan Tallmer, J.), rendered November 19, 2007, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of two counts of murder in the second degree, and sentencing him to concurrent terms of 25 years to life, unanimously affirmed.

The sentencing court properly exercised its discretion in denying defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea ( see People v. Frederick, 45 N.Y.2d 520, 410 N.Y.S.2d 555, 382 N.E.2d 1332 [1978] ). “When a defendant moves to withdraw a guilty plea, the nature and extent of the fact-finding inquiry rest[s] largely in the discretion of the Judge to whom the motion is made and a hearing will be granted only in rare instances” ( People v. Brown, 14 N.Y.3d 113, 116, 897 N.Y.S.2d 674, 924 N.E.2d 782 [2010] [internal quotation marks omitted] ).

The court afforded defendant a full opportunity to present his claims both orally and in writing, and with the assistance of newly appointed counsel. Defendant claimed that the attorney who represented him at the time of the plea rendered ineffective assistance. However, that claim was conclusory, unsubstantiated and contradicted by the record. The court relied on its familiarity with the plea...