Opinion
2016–962 N CR
01-25-2018
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Frances REINHARDT, Appellant.
Martin Geoffrey Goldberg, Esq, for appellant. Nassau County District Attorney (Daniel Bresnahan and Pamela Kelly–Pincus of counsel), for respondent.
Martin Geoffrey Goldberg, Esq, for appellant.
Nassau County District Attorney (Daniel Bresnahan and Pamela Kelly–Pincus of counsel), for respondent.
PRESENT: ANTHONY MARANO, P.J., JAMES V. BRANDS, TERRY JANE RUDERMAN, JJ.
ORDERED that the judgment of conviction is affirmed.
Defendant was charged in a felony complaint with endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person in the first degree ( Penal Law § 260.25 ). The People subsequently moved, pursuant to CPL 180.50, to reduce the felony charge to the class A misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person in the second degree ( Penal Law § 260.24 ), and, upon the consent of defense counsel, the court granted the application. Defendant then pleaded guilty to harassment in the second degree ( Penal Law § 240.26 [1 ] ), a violation not charged in the complaint, in exchange for a sentence of 15 days in jail, a conditional discharge, and the issuance of an order of protection. On appeal, defendant contends that her plea was insufficient and should be vacated.
Generally, a defendant must move to withdraw the plea or to vacate the judgment of conviction to preserve a claim that a guilty plea is invalid (see People v. Conceicao , 26 NY3d 375, 381 [2015] ). However, a narrow exception exists "where the particular circumstances of a case reveal that a defendant had no actual or practical ability to object to an alleged error in the taking of a plea that was clear from the face of the record" ( Conceicao , 26 NY3d at 381 ; People v. Louree , 8 NY3d 541, 546 [2007] ). Here, defendant's claims are reviewable on direct appeal, despite the fact that she did not move to withdraw her plea or to vacate the judgment of conviction, as she faced a practical inability to move to withdraw the plea because she was sentenced on the same date as the plea proceeding (see People v. Sougou , 26 NY3d 1052, 1054 [2015] ; Conceicao , 26 NY3d at 382 ).
With respect to the validity of the plea, the record establishes that defendant was aware that she had the right to a trial, had the benefit of her counsel's efforts and guidance, spoke with counsel, and chose to forgo trial in favor of entering a guilty plea (see People v. Sosa , 28 NY3d 965 [2016] ). Therefore, while the plea allocution could have been more detailed, the totality of the circumstances establishes a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary plea (see Sosa , 28 NY3d at 966 ; Conceicao , 26 NY3d at 384 ; People v. Rosa , 135 AD3d 434 [2016] ).
Accordingly, the judgment of conviction is affirmed.
MARANO, P.J., BRANDS and RUDERMAN, JJ., concur.