Opinion
2018–06221 Ind.No. 1616/17
10-23-2019
The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. GUANG CHEN, Appellant.
Paul Skip Laisure, New York, N.Y. (Sarah Vendzules of counsel), for appellant. John M. Ryan, Acting District Attorney, Kew Gardens, N.Y. (John M. Castellano and Johnnette Traill of counsel; Lorrie A. Zinno on the memorandum), for respondent.
Paul Skip Laisure, New York, N.Y. (Sarah Vendzules of counsel), for appellant.
John M. Ryan, Acting District Attorney, Kew Gardens, N.Y. (John M. Castellano and Johnnette Traill of counsel; Lorrie A. Zinno on the memorandum), for respondent.
WILLIAM F. MASTRO, J.P., JOHN M. LEVENTHAL, ROBERT J. MILLER, COLLEEN D. DUFFY, HECTOR D. LASALLE, JJ.
DECISION & ORDER Appeal by the defendant, as limited by his motion, from a sentence of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Steven W. Paynter, J.), imposed March 22, 2018, upon his plea of guilty, on the ground that the sentence was excessive.
ORDERED that the sentence is affirmed.
The defendant's purported waiver of his right to appeal was invalid (see People v. Bradshaw, 18 N.Y.3d 257, 267, 938 N.Y.S.2d 254, 961 N.E.2d 645 ; People v. Brown, 122 A.D.3d 133, 145, 992 N.Y.S.2d 297 ). The Supreme Court failed to confirm that the defendant understood the nature of the right to appeal and the consequences of waiving it (see People v. Brown, 122 A.D.3d at 142, 992 N.Y.S.2d 297 ). Additionally, the court's statements at the plea allocution implied that waiving the right to appeal was mandatory rather than a right which the defendant was being asked to voluntarily relinquish (see People v. Pressley, 116 A.D.3d 794, 796, 983 N.Y.S.2d 322 ; People v. Pelaez, 100 A.D.3d 803, 803, 954 N.Y.S.2d 554 ) or a condition of the plea agreement.
Thus, the purported waiver does not preclude review of the defendant's excessive sentence claim (see People v. Johnson, 157 A.D.3d 964, 965, 67 N.Y.S.3d 492 ). However, the sentence imposed was not excessive (see People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80, 455 N.Y.S.2d 675 ).
MASTRO, J.P., LEVENTHAL, MILLER, DUFFY and LASALLE, JJ., concur.