From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

People v. Patricia Bartley

Court of Appeals of the State of New York
Jul 3, 1979
47 N.Y.2d 965 (N.Y. 1979)

Summary

recognizing a court's power to revoke its improper acceptance of a plea before sentencing

Summary of this case from Righetti v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court of State

Opinion

Argued May 29, 1979

Decided July 3, 1979

Appeal from the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the First Judicial Department, RICHARD G. DENZER, J.

Rita Hayman for appellant.

Robert M. Morgenthau, District Attorney (Richard Hamburger and Robert M. Pitler of counsel), for respondent.


MEMORANDUM.

The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed.

Defendant does not dispute that the court's acceptance of her plea (to the class D felony in satisfaction of an indictment including a post-September 1, 1973 A-II felony count) was erroneous as a matter of law as prohibited by explicit provision of statute (CPL 220.10, subd 6, par [a]). Realistically the plea bargain must be considered as a nonseverable entity, and accordingly the bargain in its entirety was a total nullity as to all six counts of the indictment. The invalidity of the acceptance of the plea having been brought to its attention, the court exercised its inherent power to correct its own error. (Cf. Matter of Cosgrove v Kubiniec, 56 A.D.2d 709; People v Darling, 50 A.D.2d 1038; Matter of Blumberg v Lennon, 44 A.D.2d 769; Matter of McDonald v Sobel, 272 App. Div. 455 [vacaturs of guilty pleas entered in contravention of statute].) The court thereupon properly vacated the plea of guilty as to the one count and reinstated the not guilty pleas as to all six counts. Defendant was thereafter retried on the three post-September 1, 1973 counts of the indictment.

Our Legislature had power to provide that acceptance of a plea in satisfaction did not constitute an acquittal of the "satisfied" counts (cf. Kring v Missouri, 107 U.S. 221, 225). CPL 40.30 (subd 3) so provides and is controlling: "Despite the occurrence of proceedings specified in subdivision one [here termination in a conviction upon a plea of guilty], if such proceedings are subsequently nullified by a court order which restores the action to its pre-pleading status or which directs a new trial of the same accusatory instrument, the nullified proceedings do not bar further prosecution of such offense under the same accusatory instrument." Retrial under the original indictment was accordingly not barred by statute.

Nor has there been any violation of defendants' constitutional right not to be twice put in jeopardy (US Const, 5th Amdt; NY State Const, art I, § 6). Neither the satisfaction of the five remaining counts on the initial acceptance of the plea of guilty to the one count nor the vacatur of the guilty plea to that count was the equivalent of an acquittal based on an adjudication as to the factual elements of the charge. (United States v Scott, 437 U.S. 82; People v Key, 45 N.Y.2d 111.)

Chief Judge COOKE and Judges JASEN, GABRIELLI, JONES, WACHTLER, FUCHSBERG and MEYER concur.

Order affirmed in a memorandum.


Summaries of

People v. Patricia Bartley

Court of Appeals of the State of New York
Jul 3, 1979
47 N.Y.2d 965 (N.Y. 1979)

recognizing a court's power to revoke its improper acceptance of a plea before sentencing

Summary of this case from Righetti v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court of State

In People v Bartley (47 N.Y.2d 965), a plea which had been illegally accepted was vacated on the court's inherent power, but that vacatur occurred prior to the imposition of sentence.

Summary of this case from Matter of Campbell v. Pesce
Case details for

People v. Patricia Bartley

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. PATRICIA BARTLEY…

Court:Court of Appeals of the State of New York

Date published: Jul 3, 1979

Citations

47 N.Y.2d 965 (N.Y. 1979)
419 N.Y.S.2d 956
393 N.E.2d 1029

Citing Cases

Matter of Kisloff v. Covington

Where a court acts or threatens to act either without jurisdiction or in excess of its authorized powers in a…

People v. Onofre

(CPL §220.10[5][d][ii]; People v Bartley, 47 NY2d 965 [1979]). Since the defendant has not been sentenced,…