People v. Wilson
| Decision Date | 25 November 1964 |
| Citation | 15 N.Y.2d 634,203 N.E.2d 925,255 N.Y.S.2d 675 |
| Parties | , 203 N.E.2d 925 The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. William Barker WILSON, Appellant. |
| Court | New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
Arthur G. Silverman, Hempstead, for appellant.
William Cahn, Dist. Atty. (Henry P. DeVine, Mineola, of counsel), for respondent.
Judgment reversed and the action remitted to the County Court for a hearing on defendant's application to withdraw his plea of guilty in a memorandum. On such application defendant may be represented by a lawyer to be retained by him or, lacking this, by a lawyer to be assigned by the court. The record does not disclose any professional or other error by defendant's retained lawyer, but it does show such a difference of opinion between attorney and client over the motion to withdraw the plea as to require the court to take notice of the extent to which defendant was then effectively represented by counsel. We do not hold that the motion to withdraw the plea should have been granted but merely that a hearing should be had on the physical and mental condition of defendant when the plea was taken.
While the court's decision today disapproves of the conduct of defendant's attorney, it affords no adequate practical alternative to defense counsel who find themselves situated in similar circumstances.
The record discloses that on May 22, 1963 defendant appeared with experienced counsel and pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny in the second degree. On July 24, 1963 defendant, represented by the same counsel, appeared for sentence. At this time defendant personally sought to withdraw his plea of guilty, claiming that he had been under the influence of narcotics (in the 'withdrawal' stage) at the original hearing, and consequently did not understand the proceedings. The application summarily was denied. Thereafter defense counsel advised the court that, while defendant had been sick prior to the time he pleaded guilty, 'when he came into court here he understood the nature of the proceeding and the questions that were put to him.'
Defendant now claims that his attorney's assumption of a position adverse to him resulted in an unconstitutional deprivation of the right to counsel. This court has accepted defendant's argument, but it seems to me that if we are to lay down rules which have the effect of governing the conduct of counsel in criminal prosecutions we have the responsibility of assuring ourselves that these rules are in accord with the realities and practical considerations of the workaday world. As Chief Judge Woodbury of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently observed, ...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
People v. Claudio
...Roles", 93 Harv.L.Rev. 633; see, e.g., People v. Macerola, 47 N.Y.2d 257, 417 N.Y.S.2d 908, 391 N.E.2d 990; People v. Wilson, 15 N.Y.2d 634, 255 N.Y.S.2d 675, 203 N.E.2d 925). C. THE LAW: DEFENDANT MALDONADO Criminal Term held that when Maldonado was questioned in his living room, he was in......
-
People v. Brundage
...in recommending a plea of guilty, the ultimate decision to so plead must be made by the defendant himself. In People v. Wilson, 15 N.Y.2d 634, 635, 255 N.Y.S.2d 675, 203 N.E.2d 925, the court, in remanding the matter to the County Court on the issue of defendant's mental and physical condit......
-
People v. Cain
...to that of the defendant (see, e.g., People v. Rozzell, 20 N.Y.2d 712, 282 N.Y.S.2d 775, 229 N.E.2d 452; People v. Wilson, 15 N.Y.2d 634, 255 N.Y.S.2d 675, 203 N.E.2d 925; People v. Wilson, 91 A.D.2d 1052, 458 N.Y.S.2d 655). The record reveals that the court based its determination (that th......
-
People v. Kennedy
...such a hearing was to inquire into the physical and mental condition of the defendant when the plea was taken. (People v. Wilson, 15 N.Y.2d 634, 225 N.Y.S.2d 675, 203 N.E.2d 925.) In the case at bar, the court did not call defendant's counsel as a witness. It would seem from the excerpts re......