Opinion
April 19, 2001.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Martin Rettinger, J.), rendered December 2, 1999, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of attempted robbery in the second degree, and sentencing him, as a persistent violent felony offender, to a term of 12 years to life, unanimously affirmed.
Madeleine Guilmain, for Respondent.
Michael J. Mannheimer, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Nardelli, J.P., Mazzarelli, Ellerin, Saxe, Buckley, JJ.
The court properly exercised its discretion in denying defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea without appointing new counsel. Counsel's comments, at the court's invitation, in defense of his own performance did not create a conflict of interest affecting the adequacy of defendant's representation see,Cuyler v. Sullivan, 446 U.S. 335, 348-350) because defendant's routine attorney-coercion claim was both facially meritless and negated by the plea allocution (see, People v. Jenkins, 176 A.D.2d 597, lv denied 79 N.Y.2d 858). In view of the meritless nature of the motion ab initio, counsel's statements could not have influenced the court's decision (see, People v. Hart, 253 A.D.2d 667,lv denied 92 N.Y.2d 1032; compare, Guzman v. Sabourin, 124 F. Supp. 828, 835-836).
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.