Opinion
05-03-2017
The PEOPLE, etc., respondent, v. Rohan MANRAGH, Jr., appellant.
Thomas E. Scott, Melville, N.Y., for appellant. Thomas J. Spota, District Attorney, Riverhead, N.Y. (Caren C. Manzello of counsel), for respondent.
Thomas E. Scott, Melville, N.Y., for appellant.
Thomas J. Spota, District Attorney, Riverhead, N.Y. (Caren C. Manzello of counsel), for respondent.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Suffolk County (Crecca, J.), rendered November 14, 2013, convicting him of criminal contempt in the first degree, upon his plea of guilty, and imposing sentence.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant's claim regarding the voluntariness of his plea survives a waiver of the right to appeal (see People v. Seaberg, 74 N.Y.2d 1, 10, 543 N.Y.S.2d 968, 541 N.E.2d 1022 ; People v. Espejo, 145 A.D.3d 1031, 42 N.Y.S.3d 862 ). The decision to permit a defendant to withdraw a previously entered plea of guilty rests within the sound discretion of the court and generally will not be disturbed absent an improvident exercise of discretion (see CPL 220.60[3] ; People v. Espejo, 145 A.D.3d 1031, 42 N.Y.S.3d 862 ). Here, the County Court did not improvidently exercise its discretion in denying, without a hearing, the defendant's motion to withdraw his plea of guilty, since the record demonstrates that his plea was entered voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently (see People v. Garcia, 92 N.Y.2d 869, 870–871, 677 N.Y.S.2d 772, 700 N.E.2d 311 ; People v. Fiumefreddo, 82 N.Y.2d 536, 543, 605 N.Y.S.2d 671, 626 N.E.2d 646 ; People v. Mack, 140 A.D.3d 791, 792, 31 N.Y.S.3d 212 ).
By pleading guilty, the defendant forfeited his contention that his motion to dismiss the indictment should have been granted on the ground that the fact-finding process of the grand jury was impaired (see People v. Hansen, 95 N.Y.2d 227, 232, 715 N.Y.S.2d 369, 738 N.E.2d 773 ).
BALKIN, J.P., AUSTIN, SGROI and LaSALLE, JJ., concur.