Opinion
March 10, 1949.
Appeal from Ulster County Court.
The record before us presents an issue as to whether the defendant made a valid plea of guilty to the crime charged in Ulster County (Code Crim. Pro., § 335). This issue was never raised or litigated in the court below. Indeed the defendant insisted that he was not represented by counsel at the time of his alleged plea, but the stenographic minutes indicate that defendant was not only represented by counsel but also that his counsel entered a plea of guilty for him, hence, the issue as to whether such a plea conferred jurisdiction on the court to impose sentence. We think this issue should be litigated and determined before a final ruling is made on other issues passed on by the court below and which were raised on defendant's motion. We are uncertain whether the record submitted on appeal is a complete record of all that took place at the arraignment of defendant, and hence the matter is remitted to the County Court of Ulster County for a disposition of the issue we have indicated, and with leave to the defendant and District Attorney to present further proof in amplification of the record or such argument in the matter as they may be advised. Foster, P.J., Heffernan, Brewster, Deyo and Bergan, JJ., concur.