Opinion
2020–09064 Ind. No. 1440/19
06-01-2022
The PEOPLE, etc., respondent, v. Lennox LONDON, appellant.
Alan Katz, Garden City Park, NY, for appellant. Anne T. Donnelly, District Attorney, Mineola, NY (Kevin C. King and Madeline Collins of counsel), for respondent.
Alan Katz, Garden City Park, NY, for appellant.
Anne T. Donnelly, District Attorney, Mineola, NY (Kevin C. King and Madeline Collins of counsel), for respondent.
COLLEEN D. DUFFY, J.P., VALERIE BRATHWAITE NELSON, ANGELA G. IANNACCI, PAUL WOOTEN, JJ.
DECISION & ORDER ON MOTION
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Nassau County ( Terence Murphy, J.), rendered October 29, 2020, convicting him of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, upon his plea of guilty, and imposing sentence. Assigned counsel has submitted a brief in accordance with ( Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 ), in which he moves for leave to withdraw as counsel for the appellant.
ORDERED that the motion of Alan Katz for leave to withdraw as counsel for the appellant is granted, and he is directed to turn over all papers in his possession to new counsel assigned herein; and it is further,
ORDERED that Andrew E. MacAskill, 734 Franklin Ave., # 372, Garden City, New York 11530, is assigned as counsel to prosecute the appeal; and it is further,
ORDERED that the respondent is directed to furnish a copy of the certified transcript of the proceedings to the appellant's new assigned counsel; and it is further,
ORDERED that new counsel shall serve and file a brief on behalf of the appellant within 90 days of the date of this decision and order on motion, and the respondent shall serve and file its brief within 30 days after the brief on behalf of the appellant is served and filed. By prior decision and order on motion of this Court dated January 13, 2021, the appellant was granted leave to prosecute the appeal as a poor person, with the appeal to be heard on the original papers (including a certified transcript of the proceedings) and on the briefs of the parties. The parties are directed to upload, through the digital portal on this Court's website, digital copies of their respective briefs, with proof of service of one hard copy on each other (see 22 NYCRR 670.9 [a]).
The brief submitted by the appellant's counsel pursuant to ( Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 ) is deficient because it fails to adequately analyze potential appellate issues with reference to facts that might arguably support the appeal, including whether the appellant's plea of guilty was knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entered, and whether the appellant's sentence was excessive (see People v. Jones, 202 A.D.3d 827, 158 N.Y.S.3d 869 ; People v. Rojas, 188 A.D.3d 726, 727, 131 N.Y.S.3d 614 ; People v. Espinoza, 186 A.D.3d 1242, 1243, 127 N.Y.S.3d 898 ; People v. Morales, 180 A.D.3d 934, 934–935, 116 N.Y.S.3d 573 ). Since the brief does not demonstrate that assigned counsel fulfilled his obligations under Anders v. California, we must assign new counsel to represent the appellant (see People v. Velez, 176 A.D.3d 1239, 1240, 109 N.Y.S.3d 666 ; Matter of Giovanni S. [Jasmin A.], 89 A.D.3d 252, 258, 931 N.Y.S.2d 676 ).
DUFFY, J.P., BRATHWAITE NELSON, IANNACCI and WOOTEN, JJ., concur.