You are here: / / Discharge of Defense Attorney Was Abuse of Discretion; Issue Survives Guilty...
, ,

Discharge of Defense Attorney Was Abuse of Discretion; Issue Survives Guilty Plea 

The appellate division determined the trial court had abused its discretion in discharging defendant’s attorney and that the issue had not been forfeited by defendant’s guilty plea.  In affirming the appellate division, the Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Rivera, wrote:

Here, the claim to counsel is so deeply intertwined with the integrity of the process in Supreme Court that defendant’s guilty plea is no bar to appellate review. A claim that removal of counsel was part of the court’s disparate, unjustifiable treatment of defense counsel goes to the fundamental fairness of our system of justice. While the right to counsel of choice is qualified, and may cede, under certain circumstances, to concerns of the efficient administration of the criminal justice system, we have made clear that courts cannot arbitrarily interfere with the attorney-client relationship, and interference with that relationship for purpose of case management is not without limits, and is subject to scrutiny.  People v Griffin, 46. CtApp, 4-2-13

 

You might also like
WHERE A DEFENDANT HAS BEEN RESENTENCED BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL SENTENCE WAS ILLEGAL, THE DATE OF THE ORIGINAL SENTENCE CONTROLS FOR DETERMINATION OF PREDICATE FELONY STATUS (CT APP).
FOR PURPOSES OF THE TEN-YEAR LOOK-BACK PERIOD FOR SECOND VIOLENT FELONY OFFENDER STATUS, THE DATE OF THE ORIGINAL SENTENCE TO PROBATION, NOT THE DATE OF THE SUBSEQUENT SENTENCE FOR VIOLATION OF PROBATION, CONTROLS.
A “Statutory Resident” of New York for Income Tax Purposes Must Actually Reside In New York, Not Merely Maintain Property in New York
Appellate Division, Acting as Second Appellate Court, Used Wrong Standard of Review
City Employee Blocking Roadway to Facilitate Repairs Was Engaged in a Proprietary, Not a Governmental, Function–Ordinary Rules of Negligence Applied
Evidence of Defendant’s Silence at the Time of Arrest Should Not Have Been Allowed—New Trial Ordered
Superior Court Information Jurisdictionally Defective—It Did Not Include Any Offense (or Any Lesser-Included) Which Was in the Original Felony Complaint
PURSUANT TO UCC 9-406 A LENDER’S SECURITY INTEREST IN A DEBTOR’S ACCOUNTS-RECEIVABLES IS AN ASSIGNMENT SUCH THAT A THIRD-PARTY WHICH HAS NOTICE OF THE ASSIGNMENT MUST MAKE ANY PAYMENTS OWED TO THE DEBTOR DIRECTLY TO THE LENDER (CT APP). ​

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

Defendant’s Understanding Guilty Plea Would Result In Only a Year and a Half... Expired Fire Fighters’ Collective Bargaining Agreement Was Not “In Effect”...