Opinion
17359 Ind. No. 1129/18 Case No. 2019-05438
02-21-2023
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Marquan JONES, Defendant–Appellant.
Twyla Carter, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Nathan R. Brown of counsel), for appellant. Darcel D. Clark, District Attorney, Bronx (Jonathan Sclar of counsel), for respondent.
Twyla Carter, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Nathan R. Brown of counsel), for appellant.
Darcel D. Clark, District Attorney, Bronx (Jonathan Sclar of counsel), for respondent.
Webber, J.P., Gesmer, Singh, Moulton, Scarpulla, JJ.
Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Raymond L. Bruce, J.), rendered October 9, 2019, convicting defendant, upon his guilty plea, of attempted unlawful surveillance in the second degree, and sentencing him to a conditional discharge for a period of one year, unanimously affirmed.
Defendant's ineffective assistance of counsel claims, to the extent they survive his valid waiver of the right to appeal, are unreviewable on direct appeal because they involve matters not reflected in, or fully explained by, the record including matters of strategy and plea bargaining considerations (see e. g. People v. Powell, 185 A.D.3d 495, 495–496, 125 N.Y.S.3d 550 [1st Dept. 2020], lv denied 35 N.Y.3d 1096, 131 N.Y.S.3d 311, 155 N.E.3d 804 [2020] ). Accordingly, because defendant has not made a CPL 440.10 motion, the merits of the ineffectiveness claims may not be addressed on appeal. In the alternative, to the extent the existing record permits review, we find that defendant received effective assistance under the standards relating to guilty pleas (see id ). Counsel obtained a favorable disposition, given the seriousness of the underlying facts, in which defendant abused his position as the young victim's former teacher. There is no indication that defendant would have ultimately derived any benefit if his counsel had properly litigated suppression issues or sought a discretionary exemption from sex offender registration pursuant to Correction Law § 168–a(2)(e).