Opinion
2016–08269 S.C.I. No. 1656/15
10-03-2018
The PEOPLE, etc., respondent, v. Laron JOHNSON, appellant.
Paul Skip Laisure, New York, N.Y. (Leila Hull of counsel), for appellant. Richard A. Brown, District Attorney, Kew Gardens, N.Y. (John M. Castellano, Johnnette Traill, and Roni C. Piplani of counsel; Victoria Randall on the memorandum), for respondent.
Paul Skip Laisure, New York, N.Y. (Leila Hull of counsel), for appellant.
Richard A. Brown, District Attorney, Kew Gardens, N.Y. (John M. Castellano, Johnnette Traill, and Roni C. Piplani of counsel; Victoria Randall on the memorandum), for respondent.
MARK C. DILLON, J.P., SANDRA L. SGROI, SYLVIA O. HINDS–RADIX, VALERIE BRATHWAITE NELSON, ANGELA G. IANNACCI, JJ.
DECISION & ORDER
Appeal by the defendant, as limited by his motion, from a sentence of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Suzanne Melendez, J.), imposed July 15, 2016, upon his plea of guilty, on the ground that the sentence was excessive.
ORDERED that the sentence is affirmed.
The defendant's purported waiver of his right to appeal was invalid because the Supreme Court's colloquy conflated the right to appeal with the rights that are automatically forfeited on a plea of guilty (see People v. Ortizcora, 163 A.D.3d 1001, 77 N.Y.S.3d 642 ; People v. Resnick, 159 A.D.3d 724, 69 N.Y.S.3d 510 ; see generally People v. Bradshaw, 18 N.Y.3d 257, 264, 938 N.Y.S.2d 254, 961 N.E.2d 645 ). Thus, the waiver does not preclude appellate review of the defendant's excessive sentence claim.
However, the sentence imposed was not excessive (see People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80, 455 N.Y.S.2d 675 ).
DILLON, J.P., SGROI, HINDS–RADIX, BRATHWAITE NELSON and IANNACCI, JJ., concur.