Opinion
2016–04775 Ind. No. 1256/14
04-03-2019
The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. Geraldine SMITH, Appellant.
Janet E. Sabel, New York, N.Y. (Justine M. Luongo and Elizabeth L. Isaacs), for appellant. Eric Gonzalez, District Attorney, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Leonard Joblove, Jodi L. Mandel, and Dmitriy Povazhuk of counsel), for respondent.
Janet E. Sabel, New York, N.Y. (Justine M. Luongo and Elizabeth L. Isaacs), for appellant.
Eric Gonzalez, District Attorney, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Leonard Joblove, Jodi L. Mandel, and Dmitriy Povazhuk of counsel), for respondent.
WILLIAM F. MASTRO, J.P., ROBERT J. MILLER, COLLEEN D. DUFFY, HECTOR D. LASALLE, JJ.
DECISION & ORDER
ORDERED that the sentence is affirmed.
The record of the plea proceeding demonstrates that the defendant's purported waiver of the right to appeal was invalid, as 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 133, 142, 992 N.Y.S.2d 297 ). Moreover, although the defendant signed a written waiver of her right to appeal, the Supreme Court did not ascertain on the record that the defendant was aware of the waiver's contents and fully understood its nature and consequences (see People v. Iovino, 142 A.D.3d 561, 561–562, 36 N.Y.S.3d 216 ; People v. Brown, 122 A.D.3d at 145, 992 N.Y.S.2d 297 ). Thus, the waiver does not preclude review of the defendant's excessive sentence claim.
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., MILLER, DUFFY and LASALLE, JJ., concur.