Opinion
File No. 231200009
12-18-2023
People of the State of New York v. Michael Mavroudis, Defendant.
HON. P. DAVID SOARES, Albany County District Attorney, Kara Czapski-Orlop, Esq., Assistant District Attorney. FOR THE DEFENDANT: NAVE LAW FIRM, Justin M. Lange, Esq., Attorney for Defendant.
HON. P. DAVID SOARES, Albany County District Attorney, Kara Czapski-Orlop, Esq., Assistant District Attorney.
FOR THE DEFENDANT: NAVE LAW FIRM, Justin M. Lange, Esq., Attorney for Defendant.
David J. Wukitsch, Town Justice.
Defendant Michael Mavroudis, who was deemed permanently ineligible for re-licensure by the Department of Motor Vehicles ("DMV"), has filed a coram nobis application seeking to vacate a October 16, 2000, conviction in this court rendered upon his guilty plea to a charge of disobeying a traffic control device in violation of New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1110 (a). Defendant contends that his conviction must be vacated because he was never advised by the court, or by a pre-printed warning on the uniform traffic ticket, of his right to counsel, or of his right to an adjournment to obtain counsel. Defendant also maintains that his plea to the traffic infraction was not knowing and voluntary because it was entered prior to the 2012 DMV regulations that subjected him to a lifetime driver's license revocation-a consequence that he could not have known at the time his guilty plea was entered in this court. The People oppose the relief requested in this coram nobis application.
Defendant's conviction was rendered in the Voorheesville Village Court which was absorbed by the Town of New Scotland Justice Court on April 1, 2014.
The primary issue raised here is whether coram nobis relief should be granted vacating defendant's June 2000 guilty plea in this court due to his claim that the court failed to advise him of his right to counsel or of his right to an adjournment to obtain counsel. Although he does not cite the applicable statute, defendant urges that the court failed to comply with the arraignment procedures set forth under CPL § 170.10 (3)(a) (court must advise defendant of his right to the aid of counsel and his right to an adjournment for the purpose of retaining counsel).
CPL §170.10 (3)(a) provides, in pertinent part, as follows: '[t]he defendant has the right to the aid of counsel at the arraignment and at every stage of the action. If he appears upon such arraignment without counsel, he has the following rights: (a) To an adjournment for the purpose of obtaining counsel..."
As noted by this court in People v. Newell, (76 Misc.3d 1062): "[i]n 2012, the DMV amended its regulations to provide for a lifetime review of a person's driving record when, among other things, a person with multiple alcohol or drug-related driving convictions applies for relicensing (15 NYCRR§ 136.5 [a]). The purpose of the regulations is to take disciplinary action for the protection of the applicant and the public (15 NYCRR § 136.1 [a]). A person with five or more alcohol or drug-related convictions is permanently barred from obtaining a driver's license (15 NYCRR § 136.5 [b][1]). Of relevance here, a person with three or more alcohol or drug related convictions may reapply for driving privileges five years after expiration of the statutory revocation period (15 NYCRR §136.5 [b][3][i][ii]). However, a person with three or more alcohol or drug-related driving convictions who also has one or more "serious driving offense" may never be relicensed (15 NYCRR § 136.5[b][2]). The definition of "serious driving offense" includes the situation where the driver has amassed 20 or more points from any traffic violations (15 NYCRR § 136.5[a][2][iv])." (id. at p. 1063-1064)
Applying the DMV regulations to the instant case, defendant's prior alcohol related convictions due not bar relicensure because he has four (not five or more). However, a review of his lifetime driving record and the 25-year look back period shows that he had more than 30 points on his license when he applied for re-licensure in 2012. Therefore, he also meets the DMV definition of "serious driving offense," having amassed 38 total points from any traffic violation (15 NYCRR § 136.5 [a][2][iv]), which, permanently denies him re-licensure (15 NYCRR § 136.5 [b][2]).
There Is No Proof That Defendant's 2000 Plea in This Court Was Defective
Before addressing the primary issue pertaining to defendant's right to counsel, the court will turn to the issue raised in People v. Newell and raised in this case once again - namely should a driver who pled guilty to a traffic infraction prior to the 2012 DMV regulations imposing the lifetime revocation of his driving privileges be permitted to vacate the plea on the ground that said plea was not knowing and voluntary because he could not have known that the DMV would later impose the lifetime revocation provisions. As in Newell, the court rejects this argument (76 Misc.3d at p. 1065-1067). To hold otherwise, would mean that many years ago this court would have been required to advise the defendant that a collateral consequence of his guilty plea could entail a future negative impact on his driving privileges. Some collateral consequences of a plea must be brought to the attention of the defendant prior to a plea of guilty (People v Rucker, 67 A.D.3d 1126 [2009] [defendant must be advised of post release supervision because of a guilty plea]; People v Peque, 22 N.Y.3d 168, 194 [2013] [defendant must be advised of the immigration consequences of his guilty plea]). However, the subject regulations that led to the denial of his driving privileges did not exist at the time of his plea and "it would have been impossible for the court to advise him of consequences flowing therefrom" (People v. Maggio, 210 A.D.3d 798, 799-780 [2022]. Simply put, defendant's unawareness that, as a consequence of his entering a guilty plea, his driver's license might never be reinstated does not prevent his plea from being knowing and voluntary, in part, because the denial of relicensing does not result from a single conviction, but from the defendant's entire driving history (People v Maggio, 210 A.D.3d at 801-802; People v. Beltran, 77 Misc.3d 1091 [Justice Court, Town of Deerpark 2022]; People v. Avital, 64 Misc.3d 483 [Justice Court, Town of East Fishkill 2019]; People v. Wheaton, 49 Misc.3d 378 [Cty. Ct. Seneca Cty. 2015]).
Defendant Has Not Met His Burden of Proof on His Request for Coram Nobis Relief
Next, the court will take up the defendant's principal argument- his October, 2000 conviction in this court should be vacated because at the time he pled guilty to the traffic infraction either by mail and/or by appearing in person he was not advised by the court or by a pre-printed warning on the ticket, of his right to counsel, or his right to an adjournment to obtain counsel (Petition for Writ of Coram Nobis, par. 2). As a threshold matter, defendant does not request a hearing, but the court must first decide whether one is necessary.
The New York Criminal Procedure Law ("CPL") codifies the requirements for coram nobis relief under CPL § 440.10. Notably, "where a motion is made under CPL § 440.10, a hearing to develop additional background facts is [not] invariably necessary" (People v Satterfield, 66 N.Y.2d 796, 799 [1985]). Here, defendant makes the vague assertion that he either pled guilty by mail or that he appeared in person to answer the charge and entered a plea in court. If the defendant had appeared in court, a hearing would not shed light on what transpired in court in October 2000. Town and village courts were required to mechanically record proceedings beginning on June 16, 2008. As such, there is no recording of the June and/or October 2000 court proceedings in question. If the defendant pled guilty by mail, then he waived his right to an arraignment where he would have been advised of his right to retain counsel (See Donnino, Practice Commentaries, McKinney's, CPL § 170.10). Therefore, the court sees no need for a hearing to develop additional background facts and it will decide the case based on the written submissions.
New York Office of Court Administration, Administrative Order AO/245/08 dated May 21, 2008.
Turning to the facial sufficiency of the application, to overcome the presumption of validity that attaches to judgments of conviction, the defendant must allege a ground "constituting a legal basis for relief" and assert sworn allegations of fact "substantiating or tending to substantiate all the essential facts" required (CPL § 440.30[1][a], [4][b]). Conclusory allegations are insufficient, justifying summary denial of the application (People v. Brown, 56 N.Y.2d 242, 247 [1982]). Defendant claims that he either pled by mail or came to court, but in either event he was not advised on the record of his right to retain an attorney or his right to an adjournment to obtain counsel. Here, the defendant bears the burden of proof, yet he does not plainly assert that he ever appeared in court (since he acknowledges he may have pled guilty by mail) and he has failed to come forward with any evidence beyond his self-serving allegations to substantiate his claim (People v. Spradlin, 192 A.D.3d 1270 [2021]). This is critical because the arraignment procedures set forth under CPL § 170.10 (a)-(c) are tied to the situation where the defendant "... appears upon such such arraignment without counsel..." CPL § 170. 10 (3).
Further, his claim that he may not have been advised of his rights in court or on the charging instrument are obviously record based and should have been pursued on a direct appeal 23 years ago-his post-conviction motion is being improperly used as a substitute for a direct appeal (People v. Cuadrado, 9 N.Y.3d 362 [2007]; People v. Berezansky, 229 A.D.2d 768 [1996]). In this context, defendant was charged in a uniform traffic ticket with the infraction of failure to obey a traffic control device. The court was required to retain his paper file for a period of six years under the applicable record retention rules and then destroy it-therefore, the court does not have the charging instrument or a record of the proceedings to consult to review his claims.
New York State Office of Court Administration, Records Retention and Disposition Schedule-Criminal Records of the Criminal Court of the City of New York, City Courts, District Courts and Town and Village Courts, p. 4 (May 2009).
For these reasons, summary denial of the application for coram nobis relief is warranted.
Defendant's Request for Coram Nobis Relief Lacks Merit
Even if the application for coram nobis relief were to be deemed sufficient on its face defendant would not be entitled to vacatur of his traffic infraction conviction in this court. Addressing the merits, the court must examine whether the defendant satisfies any of the statutory grounds for coram nobis relief. The applicable statute sets out specific grounds for vacating a guilty plea (CPL § 440.10 (1) [a-k]). Defendant does not allege in his written submission the specific ground(s) he is relying upon for the relief requested. A review of the grounds set forth under CPL § 440.10 (1) (a-k) indicates that the ground arguably relevant here is that the conviction was obtained in violation of his constitutional rights (CPL § 440.10 [1][h]). Moreover, the court may, in reviewing defendant's attempt to set aside this court's October 2000 traffic infraction conviction, treat the application more broadly as one relying on the common law writ of coram nobis (People v. Bachert, 69 N.Y.2d 593 [1987]).
The distinction between a "crime" and an offense is defined by statute. The New York Penal Law defines a "crime" as a "misdemeanor or felony" which are in turn categorized by the amount of prison time that may be imposed. See Penal Law §§ 10 (4)-(6) (misdemeanor is "an offense, other than a traffic infraction" for which a sentence "in excess of fifteen days... but...[not] in excess of one year..." may be imposed, and a felony is "an offense [carrying]... a term of imprisonment in excess of one year..."). In contrast, lesser offenses like violations or traffic infractions are categorized as non-criminal "petty offenses." CPL § 1.20 (39). Both traffic infractions and violations are designated as "petty offenses" punishable by up to fifteen days in in jail (People v. Perkins, 37 Misc.3d 696 [Crim. Ct. Kings Cty. 2012]). Of relevance here, a conviction for the traffic infraction of failure to obey a traffic device results in a fine or a jail term of up to fifteen days. However, because a traffic infraction is not a crime, a prosecution for a traffic infraction is a civil action, not a criminal action. See Gen. Const. Law § 18-a (a "criminal action is an action prosecuted by the People "against a party charged with a crime"); Gen Const. Law § 16-a (a "civil action" is any action other than an action prosecuted by the People "against a party charged with a crime").
In People v Letterio (16 N.Y.2d 307, 312 [1965]), the Court of Appeals held that a motorist has no right to counsel when charged with a traffic infraction and need not be apprised of the right to counsel. The Court held that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel does not attach to a petty offense, like a traffic infraction, being one of "certain minor transgressions which admit of summary disposition... [and] New York has long deemed traffic infractions as a form of misconduct distinguishable from more serious breaches of the law or crimes." id. at 312. The Court reasoned that although a traffic infraction carries a penalty, it is not a criminal penalty, but rather is in the nature of a community sanction or civil penalty, even though in very rare cases a jail sentence is authorized and may be imposed (Letterio, 16 N.Y.2d at 312-313). As such, the Court in Letterio concluded that traffic offenders are not entitled to "all the weight and solemn constitutional protections" afforded those charged with a crime (id.)
To contrast, in a prosecution for a traffic misdemeanor, a defendant has the right to counsel and the court must take "affirmative action" to effectuate that right. See CPL 170.10 (3) [c] & (4) and People v. Ross, 67 N.Y.2d 321, 326 (1986) (Simons,J.).
Under Letterio, which is still controlling precedent, defendant was held to have no constitutional right to be advised of his right to retain counsel or his right to an adjournment to obtain counsel. On the other hand, New York statutory law confers these rights upon a defendant who appears at his arraignment on a traffic infraction. (CPL § 170.10 [3]; People v. Ross, 67 N.Y.2d at 326 [constitutional right to counsel distinguishable from rights conferred under the Criminal Procedure Law]). However, a defendant who pleads guilty to a traffic infraction by mail waives arraignment by returning a plea of guilty on the uniform traffic ticket form and that form specifically states that he waives "the aid of counsel" See Form of Uniform Traffic Ticket New York Administrative Code, 15 NYCRR § 91.7. There is no proof before this court, other than defendant's unsupported claim, that the uniform traffic ticket in this case lacked the required language or that the court at arraignment failed to advise him of his rights.
Defendant cites three cases in which motorists were convicted of one or more traffic infractions which authorized jail time and, on appeal, their convictions were reversed because the motorists were not advised in court of the right to retain counsel or of the right to an adjournment to obtain a lawyer (People v. Mohabir, 46 Misc.3d 143 (A) [2015]; People v Braun, 45 Misc.3d 130 (A) [2014]; People v. Rios, 9 Misc.3d 1 [2005]). Here, we do not know from the record whether the defendant ever appeared in court or whether he waived his arraignment. The cited cases are also distinguishable from the instant case because they involved direct appeals from a judgment of conviction, after trial, not guilty pleas to the charge followed many years later by an application for coram nobis relief. The defendant in this case forfeited his ability to raise the issue of statutory compliance with CPL§ 170.10 when he neglected to file a direct appeal of his conviction in this court. To the extent that People v Rios may be read to suggest that the possibility of a 15-day jail sentence triggers a "right to counsel" of constitutional dimension in prosecutions for traffic infractions that holding is rejected because it conflicts with the Court of Appeals decision in People v Letterio supra, which unequivocally rejected a right to counsel in traffic infraction cases even though many authorize sentences of up to 15 days in jail.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Sixth Amendment does not apply in the adjudication of a traffic infraction unless the conviction actually results in incarceration (Scott v. Illinois, 440 U.S. 367, 373-74 [1979]).
The regulatory scheme established by DMV vests that agency with discretionary authority over post revocation licensing determinations (People v. DiTore, 209 A.D.3d 665, 667 [2022]) Nonetheless, this court acknowledged in People v Newell that it has the discretion to use coram nobis to correct a plain injustice, but this discretion is guided by the following factors: 1) the totality of defendant's driving record (i.e., total points); 2) the nature of the conviction(s) he seeks to vacate; 3) the age of the convictions he seeks to vacate considered along with the time he drives relatively infraction free; and, 4) other factors, such as a lack of legal representation at the time of the plea (76 Misc.3d at p. 1068; Flanbach, New York Driving While Intoxicated § 36.7 [3d ed. 2023]). None of these factors is determinative, and the court should consider the totality of the circumstances that led to the permanent inability to obtain re-licensure from the DMV.
As noted in Newell, the DMV regulations consider defendant's entire driving record and even in cases where, as here, he has four prior alcohol related convictions, he may be relicensed so long as he is otherwise eligible. Here, due to numerous other motor vehicle convictions (38 points in the look back period) defendant was found by DMV to have committed a "serious offense" and thereby deemed permanently disqualified from driving in New York state.
Applying the factors outlined in Newell, a fair review of defendant's lifetime driving record shows that it is very poor, including four prior alcohol related convictions. He puts forth no evidence regarding completed treatment/evaluations for alcohol dependence. Further, defendant was also convicted of the felony of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree. Defendant was 27 years old and young at the time of his traffic conviction in this court. Yet, other than his age he offers no other compelling proof to support his request to vacate his October 2000 conviction in this court. Regarding the age of the convictions, unlike the defendant in People v. Sora (2021 WL 6805065 [Greene Cty. Ct. 2021]), decided in 2021 and involving a 1989 non-alcohol related offense, defendant here has alcohol related offenses as recent as 2007. Finally, although defendant raises a claim regarding the failure of the court at arraignment to advise him of the right to retain counsel and the alleged absence on his uniform ticket of language pertaining to counsel, his claim is record based and rests solely on his self-serving and vague allegations. The coram nobis application is procedurally defective and devoid of record proof. Any claims regarding the right to counsel should have been raised on a direct appeal over two decades ago, not by an application for coram nobis relief without supporting evidence.
Based on the foregoing, it is hereby
ORDERED, that defendant's application is in all respects denied.
Papers Considered:
1. Petition for Writ of Error Coram Nobis dated 11/2/23
2. Affirmation in Opposition dated 11/27/23