In People v. Dalton (3d Dept. 1/28/2010), the Third Department unanimously held that a defendant's guilty plea was not knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently entered, since he was erroneously advised that he could pursue, on appeal, his speedy trial claim. The defendant was charged in a two-count indictment with CSCS 3º and Criminal Impersonation 2º. As part of a plea agreement with the District Attorney, the defendant pled guilty to CSCS 5º. However, the agreement purported to allow the defendant to retain a right to pursue appellate review of a 30.30 claim. During the plea allocation, the trial court specifically advised the defendant that he would indeed maintain this right.
Relying on People v Di Donato, 87 N.Y.2d 992 (1996), the court noted that a defendant generally “forfeit[s] his right to appellate review of his claim that his statutory right to a speedy trial was violated” (citations omitted). The court noted that, because the trial court failed to advise the defendant of this rule and actually advised the defendant to the contrary in the plea allocution, the defendant’s plea “was not knowing, intelligent and voluntary.” (JTR/LC)
Comments