People v. Williams

• Decision Date: 18 November 2022
• Docket Number: 834,KA 18-00699
• Citation: 210 A.D.3d 1507,178 N.Y.S.3d 349
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Lovell M. WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

210 A.D.3d 1507
178 N.Y.S.3d 349

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent,
v.
Lovell M. WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant.

834
KA 18-00699

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

Entered: November 18, 2022

MARK D. FUNK, CONFLICT DEFENDER, ROCHESTER (KATHLEEN P. REARDON OF COUNSEL), FOR DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

SANDRA DOORLEY, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, ROCHESTER (KAYLAN C. PORTER OF COUNSEL), FOR RESPONDENT.

PRESENT: SMITH, J.P., LINDLEY, CURRAN, BANNISTER, AND MONTOUR, JJ.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

210 A.D.3d 1507

It is hereby ORDERED that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.

Memorandum: On appeal from a judgment convicting him upon his plea of guilty of attempted robbery in the first degree ( Penal Law §§ 110.00, 160.15 [2] ), defendant contends that County Court erred in failing to conduct the requisite minimal inquiry into his request for substitution of counsel. We reject that contention because even assuming, arguendo, that defendant's contention "is not foreclosed by his guilty plea because it implicates the voluntariness of the plea ...," we conclude that defendant "abandoned his request for new counsel when he decid[ed] ... to plead guilty while still being represented by the same attorney" ( People v. Clemons , 201 A.D.3d 1355, 1355, 158 N.Y.S.3d 690 [4th Dept. 2022], lv denied 38 N.Y.3d 1032, 169 N.Y.S.3d 214, 189 N.E.3d 321 [2022] [internal quotation marks omitted]; see People v. Jeffords , 185 A.D.3d 1417, 1418, 128 N.Y.S.3d 112 [4th Dept. 2020], lv denied 35 N.Y.3d 1095, 131 N.Y.S.3d 303, 155 N.E.3d 796 [2020] ; People v. Harris , 182 A.D.3d 992, 994, 123 N.Y.S.3d 306 [4th Dept. 2020], lv denied 35 N.Y.3d 1066, 129 N.Y.S.3d 400, 152 N.E.3d 1201 [2020] ). During the plea colloquy, defendant "expressed no concerns with [his] attorney and instead confirmed that he was satisfied with [his] attorney's advice and representation" ( People v. Seymore , 188 A.D.3d 1767, 1769, 135 N.Y.S.3d 745 [4th Dept. 2020], lv denied 36 N.Y.3d 1100, 144 N.Y.S.3d 126, 167 N.E.3d 1261 [2021] ; see People v. Lewicki , 118 A.D.3d 1328, 1328-1329, 987 N.Y.S.2d 755 [4th Dept. 2014], lv denied 23 N.Y.3d 1064, 994 N.Y.S.2d 323, 18 N.E.3d 1144 [2014] ).

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