People v. Ramos

Decision Date12 October 2010
Citation909 N.Y.S.2d 484,77 A.D.3d 773
PartiesThe PEOPLE, etc., respondent, v. Jason RAMOS, appellant.
CourtNew York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

John Brian Macreery, Katonah, N.Y., for appellant.

Janet DiFiore, District Attorney, White Plains, N.Y. (Maria I. Wager, Richard Longworth Hecht, and Anthony J. Servino of counsel), for respondent.

PETER B. SKELOS, J.P., DANIEL D. ANGIOLILLO, L. PRISCILLA HALL, and PLUMMER E. LOTT, JJ.

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Westchester County (Molea, J.), rendered July 1, 2009, convicting him of robbery in the first degree, upon his plea of guilty, and imposing sentence.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.

The defendant moved to withdraw his plea of guilty on the ground that the plea was not knowing, voluntary, and intelligentbecause he felt compelled to take the plea out of fear that his attorney would be forced to withdraw from the case and therefore would not be able to represent him at trial. The defendant also claimed that his mental state was impaired due to insufficient medication for his bipolar disorder, and that his understanding was limited due to borderline intelligence. The defendant did not submit an affidavit or medical evidence in support of these allegations, which were set forth in his attorney's affirmation.

The decision whether to permit a defendant to withdraw a plea of guilty is a matter within the sound discretion of the court and will not be disturbed absent an improvident exercise of discretion ( see CPL 220.60[3]; People v. Selikoff, 35 N.Y.2d 227, 241, 360 N.Y.S.2d 623, 318 N.E.2d 784, cert. denied 419 U.S. 1122, 95 S.Ct. 806, 42 L.Ed.2d 822; People v. Smith, 54 A.D.3d 879, 879-880, 863 N.Y.S.2d 818; People v. Drago, 50 A.D.3d 920, 855 N.Y.S.2d 252). Here, the County Court providently exercised its discretion in denying the defendant's motion. The defendant's contentions of coercion and pressure were properly rejected as unsupported by the record ( see People v. Fontana, 267 A.D.2d 398, 399, 700 N.Y.S.2d 732; People v. Sears, 204 A.D.2d 578, 614 N.Y.S.2d 207). Further, the defendant's conclusory assertions regarding his mental state were belied by his concession that he received his medication at the regularly scheduled time, and by the County Court's observations of his demeanor and his coherent and unequivocal responses during the comprehensive plea allocution ( see People v. Martinez, 33 A.D.3d 631, 632, 821 N.Y.S.2d 660; People v. Loria, 12 A.D.3d 1125, 785 N.Y.S.2d 240; People v. Pryor, 11 A.D.3d 565, 782 N.Y.S.2d 803). Thus, the record establishes that the defendant's plea of guilty and his waiver of the right to appeal were knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently entered ( see People v. Lopez, 6 N.Y.3d 248, 256, 811 N.Y.S.2d 623, 844 N.E.2d 1145; People v. Fiumefreddo, 82 N.Y.2d 536, 543, 605 N.Y.S.2d 671, 626 N.E.2d 646).

"The defendant's valid waiver of his right to appeal precludes appellate review of his claim that he was deprived of his right to effective assistance of counsel, except to the extent that the alleged ineffective assistance may have affected the voluntariness of his plea" ( People v. Drago, 50 A.D.3d at 920, 855...

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    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court Appellate Division
    • 11 de dezembro de 2013
    ...953 N.Y.S.2d 892; People v. Gonzalez, 93 A.D.3d 679, 939 N.Y.S.2d 714; People v. Brown, 78 A.D.3d 723, 909 N.Y.S.2d 662; People v. Ramos, 77 A.D.3d 773, 909 N.Y.S.2d 484; People v. Buniek, 52 A.D.3d 621, 858 N.Y.S.2d 891; People v. Reina, 35 A.D.3d 509, 826 N.Y.S.2d 143; People v. Rosas, 34......
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  • People v. Solis
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    ...counsel may have affected the voluntariness of his plea ( see People v. Montalvo, 105 A.D.3d 774, 775, 961 N.Y.S.2d 324;People v. Ramos, 77 A.D.3d 773, 774, 909 N.Y.S.2d 484). Moreover, by pleading guilty, the defendant forfeited those claims of ineffective assistance of counsel that did no......
  • People v. Murphy
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court Appellate Division
    • 5 de fevereiro de 2014
    ...may have affected the voluntariness of her plea ( see People v. Montalvo, 105 A.D.3d 774, 775, 961 N.Y.S.2d 324; People v. Ramos, 77 A.D.3d 773, 774, 909 N.Y.S.2d 484; People v. Drago, 50 A.D.3d 920, 855 N.Y.S.2d 252). To the extent that the defendant contends that her counsel's conduct aff......
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