Opinion
5666.
Decided on October 11, 2011.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Richard D. Carruthers, J.), rendered April 15, 2009, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of assault in the first degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to a term of 8 years, unanimously affirmed.
Richard M. Greenberg, Office of the Appellate Defender, New York (Matthew I. Fleischman of counsel), for appellant.
Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Matthew T. Murphy of counsel), for respondent.
Mazzarelli, J.P., Friedman, Catterson, Moskowitz, Abdus-Salaam, JJ.
Defendant did not preserve his claim that the court failed to conduct an adequate inquiry into his possible justification defense during the plea allocution, and we decline to review it in the interest of justice. The narrow exception to the preservation rule explained in People v Lopez ( 71 NY2d 662, 665-666) does not apply because defendant's allocution did not cast doubt on his guilt. The court's duty to inquire was not triggered by statements defendant made to the police that may have suggested a possible justification defense, since defendant "did not reiterate those statements at his plea allocution" ( People v Negron, 222 AD2d 327, 327, lv denied 88 NY2d 882). As an alternative holding, we find that defendant knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily pleaded guilty. In particular, the court specifically warned defendant that by pleading guilty he would be giving up any self-defense claim.
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.