Opinion
2018–02036 Ind. No. 242/17
04-29-2020
The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. Anthony WHITE, Appellant.
Paul Skip Laisure, New York, N.Y. (William Kastin of counsel), for appellant. Michael E. McMahon, District Attorney, Staten Island, N.Y. (Morrie I. Kleinbart of counsel), for respondent.
Paul Skip Laisure, New York, N.Y. (William Kastin of counsel), for appellant.
Michael E. McMahon, District Attorney, Staten Island, N.Y. (Morrie I. Kleinbart of counsel), for respondent.
RUTH C. BALKIN, J.P., CHERYL E. CHAMBERS, JEFFREY A. COHEN, FRANCESCA E. CONNOLLY, PAUL WOOTEN, JJ.
DECISION & ORDER
Appeal by the defendant, as limited by his motion, from a sentence of the Supreme Court, Richmond County (Stephen J. Rooney, J.), imposed December 4, 2017, upon his plea of guilty, on the ground that the sentence imposed was excessive.
ORDERED that the sentence is affirmed.
The defendant's purported waiver of his right to appeal was invalid, as the Supreme Court mischaracterized the nature of the waiver (see People v. Thomas, 34 N.Y.3d 545, 565, 122 N.Y.S.3d 226, 144 N.E.3d 970, 2019 N.Y. Slip Op. 08545, *6 [companion case to People v. Thomas, 34 N.Y.3d 545, 122 N.Y.S.3d 226, 144 N.E.3d 970, 2019 N.Y. Slip Op. 08545 ] ). Where, as here, a trial court has "mischaracterized the nature of the right a defendant was being asked to cede, an appellate court cannot be certain that the defendant comprehended the nature of the waiver of appellate rights" (People v. Thomas, 34 N.Y.3d at 565, 122 N.Y.S.3d 226, 144 N.E.3d 970, 2019 N.Y. Slip Op. 08545, *6 [internal quotation marks omitted] ). Thus, the purported waiver of the right to appeal does not preclude this Court's review of the defendant's excessive sentence claim (see People v. Rodriguez, 178 A.D.3d 736, 736, 111 N.Y.S.3d 215 ). However, the sentence imposed was not excessive (see People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80, 455 N.Y.S.2d 675 ).
BALKIN, J.P., CHAMBERS, COHEN, CONNOLLY and WOOTEN, JJ., concur.