Opinion
May 31, 1996
Appeal from the Livingston County Court, Cicoria, J.
Present — Denman, P.J., Green, Wesley, Balio and Boehm, JJ.
Judgment unanimously affirmed. Memorandum: Defendant contends that County Court abused its discretion in denying his motion to withdraw his plea of guilty without conducting an evidentiary hearing. We disagree. Defendant moved to withdraw his guilty plea on the grounds that he entered the plea under duress and that his pending motion to reopen a suppression motion in an unrelated proceeding in another county might, if decided in his favor, impact on the People's evidence in this case. The court was familiar with the facts underlying defendant's claim of duress, and a defendant "`is not entitled to withdraw his guilty plea merely because he discovers that he misapprehended the quality of the [People's] case'" ( People v. Cantu, 202 A.D.2d 1033, quoting People v. Lesesne, 173 A.D.2d 407). Under the circumstances, defendant was afforded a reasonable opportunity to state his grounds for withdrawal of the plea ( see, People v Chandler, 214 A.D.2d 1027, lv denied 86 N.Y.2d 792; People v Ayers [appeal No. 1], 192 A.D.2d 1134, lv denied 81 N.Y.2d 1069).