Opinion
No. 2022-353 D CR
12-07-2023
The People of the State of New York, Appellant, v. Joel S. Hanlon, Respondent.
Dutchess County District Attorney (Anna K. Diehn of counsel), for appellant. Edward T. McCormack, for respondent.
Unpublished Opinion
Dutchess County District Attorney (Anna K. Diehn of counsel), for appellant.
Edward T. McCormack, for respondent.
PRESENT:: JERRY GARGUILO, P.J., ELIZABETH H. EMERSON, TIMOTHY S. DRISCOLL, JJ
Appeal from an order of the Justice Court of the Town of LaGrange, Dutchess County (Susan Sullivan-Bisceglia, J.), dated April 26, 2021. The order granted defendant's motion to vacate a judgment of that court rendered November 1, 2005 convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of driving while intoxicated (common law), and to dismiss the accusatory instrument.
ORDERED that the order is reversed, on the law, and defendant's motion to vacate the judgment of conviction and dismiss the accusatory instrument is denied.
On November 1, 2005, defendant was convicted, upon his guilty plea, of driving while intoxicated (common law) (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192 [3]). In November 2020, defendant moved to vacate the 2005 judgment of conviction and to dismiss the accusatory instrument in the interest of justice. Defendant alleged in his supporting affidavit that his guilty plea was not knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently entered because he was not fully advised, in 2005, of the consequences of pleading guilty. More specifically, he did not know that, in 2012, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) would promulgate a regulation which provided that, upon a third driving or alcohol-related conviction within a 25-year period, the amount of time a driver's license could be revoked would be increased (see 15 NYCRR § 136.5 [b] [3]). By order dated April 26, 2021, the Justice Court granted defendant's motion and dismissed the accusatory instrument.
As this court held in People v Niedermeier (52 Misc.3d 135 [A], 2016 NY Slip Op 51033[U], *2 [App Term, 2d Dept, 9th & 10th Jud Dists 2016]), "the loss of a driver's license is a collateral consequence to a guilty plea of which a defendant need not be informed" (see also People v Morris, 161 A.D.3d 1219, 1220 [2018]; People v Williams, 150 A.D.3d 1549, 1551 [2017]; People v Gerald, 103 A.D.3d 1249, 1249-1250 [2013]). In any event, here, the 2012 DMV regulation at issue did not exist to be warned of in 2005 (see People v Maggio, 210 A.D.3d 798, 799 [2022]; People v DiTore, 209 A.D.3d 665, 667 [2022]).
Accordingly, the order is reversed and defendant's motion to vacate the judgment of conviction and dismiss the accusatory instrument is denied.
GARGUILO, P.J., EMERSON and DRISCOLL, JJ., concur.