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People v. Cooper

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Fourth Department
Apr 19, 1996
226 A.D.2d 1115 (N.Y. App. Div. 1996)

Opinion

April 19, 1996

Appeal from the Erie County Court, D'Amico, J.

Present — Green, J.P., Lawton, Wesley, Doerr and Boehm, JJ.


Judgment unanimously affirmed. Memorandum: Defendant's 1988 judgment of conviction of criminal facilitation in the second degree was vacated because defense counsel was a parttime Assistant District Attorney for the Town of West Seneca, where unrelated misdemeanor charges were pending against defendant ( People v. Cooper, 156 Misc.2d 483). The indictments, however, were not dismissed ( People v. Cooper, supra, at 488). Thereafter, defendant entered a plea of guilty to two of the three indictments in satisfaction of all three indictments.

Defendant contends that a special prosecutor should have been appointed after the earlier conviction was vacated. "By pleading guilty * * * [defendant] * * * waived his right to appellate review of [that] nonjurisdictional claim" ( People v Cole, 152 A.D.2d 851, 853, lv denied 74 N.Y.2d 895; see, People v Sims, 217 A.D.2d 912, lv denied 87 N.Y.2d 851). Contrary to the People's contention, defendant did not expressly waive his double jeopardy defense ( cf., People v. Allen, 86 N.Y.2d 599). Nevertheless, dismissal of the indictments on double jeopardy grounds is not required ( see, People v. Fida, 168 A.D.2d 905, lv denied 77 N.Y.2d 960).

By pleading guilty, defendant forfeited his right to raise a statutory speedy trial claim ( see, People v. O'Brien, 56 N.Y.2d 1009), but not his right to raise a constitutional speedy trial claim ( see, People v. Allen, supra, at 602). A balancing of the factors set forth in People v. Taranovich ( 37 N.Y.2d 442, 445) indicates that defendant's constitutional right to a speedy trial was not violated. The People did not unduly delay their declaration of readiness after defendant's earlier judgment of conviction was vacated, defendant was not incarcerated during that time, and there is no proof that the defense was impaired by reason of the delay.


Summaries of

People v. Cooper

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Fourth Department
Apr 19, 1996
226 A.D.2d 1115 (N.Y. App. Div. 1996)
Case details for

People v. Cooper

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. GEORGE COOPER…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Fourth Department

Date published: Apr 19, 1996

Citations

226 A.D.2d 1115 (N.Y. App. Div. 1996)
642 N.Y.S.2d 131

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