You are here: / / Plea Allocution Negated Essential Element of Offense/Error, though Unpreserved,...
,

Plea Allocution Negated Essential Element of Offense/Error, though Unpreserved, Required Reversal

The Court of Appeals reversed defendant’s conviction because the plea colloquy negated an essential element of the offense.  The defendant pled guilty to rape 3rd (Penal Law 130.25(3)), the so-called “date rape” statute. The statute requires a lack of consent by the victim, not a lack of capacity to consent (caused by drugs, for example). The plea allocution indicated only a lack of capacity to consent.  Even though the error was not preserved, the Court of Appeals determined the case fell within the narrow exception to the preservation requirement recognized in Lopez (71 NY2d at 666) where the court fails to ensure the guilty plea is knowing and voluntary:

Penal Law § 130.25 (3) addresses “so-called date rape or acquaintance rape situations [where] there [might] be consent to various acts leading up to the sexual act, but at the time of the act, the victim clearly says no or otherwise expresses a lack of consent” … .  Accordingly, the statutory provision requires the victim to have “clearly expresse[d] an unwillingness to engage in the sexual act in such a way that a neutral observer would have understood that the victim was not consenting” … .

Despite the statute’s plain terms, questions posed by the prosecutor during the brief colloquy indicate an intention to elicit from defendant that the complainant was unable to consent because she was incapacitated.  Moreover, the court’s single query during the factual allocution suggests that the court similarly misunderstood that key element of the crime.  In an apparent attempt to establish a causal relationship between thr complainant’s incapacity and her lack of consent, the court asked defendant, “[a]nd [the complainant] didn’t give you consent because she took too much medication and she has a mental illness, correct?”  By answering in the affirmative, defendant unequivocally negated an element of the crime to which he was pleading guilty.  People v Worden, 203, CtApp 11-21-13

 

You might also like
Failure to Pronounce the Amount of Restitution at Sentencing Survives Waiver of Appeal and Requires Vacation of the Sentences and Remittal
DEFENDANT’S REQUEST TO QUESTION WITNESSES WITH THE AID OF STANDBY COUNSEL WAS NOT AN UNEQUIVOCAL REQUEST TO REPRESENT HIMSELF REQUIRING A SEARCHING INQUIRY, DEFENDANT’S WISH TO PRESENT PSYCHIATRIC TESTIMONY TO QUESTION THE VOLUNTARINESS OF HIS CONFESSION WAS PROPERLY DENIED BECAUSE CPL 250.10 NOTICE WAS NOT PROVIDED (CT APP).
Moratorium on Fracking Did Not Extend Oil and Gas Leases Beyond the Primary Five-Year Term
PROCEDURE FOR DETERMINING WHETHER A PROSECUTOR’S INITIAL STATEMENT OF READINESS FOR TRIAL WAS ILLUSORY CLARIFIED.
WHEN A MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY WHICH ISSUES PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY POLICES TO MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS DEMUTUALIZES, THE CASH-CONSIDERATION PROCEEDS, ABSENT AGREEMENTS TO THE CONTRARY, ARE DISTRIBUTED TO THE EMPLOYEE, NOT THE EMPLOYER WHICH PAID THE PREMIUMS (CT APP).
Prosecution by Misdemeanor Information Waived by Defense Counsel; Facts Alleged In Support of the Obstruction of Governmental Administration Charge Were Sufficient to Meet Requirements of a Misdemeanor Complaint
Denial of Guilt to Department of Probation (DOP) Was Not a Violation of a Condition that Defendant Cooperate With the DOP
County Can Charge Towns the Amounts Paid by the County On Behalf of Community College Students Residing in the Towns, Even Though the State, by Statute, Undertook the Responsibility to Reimburse the Counties for those Expenses—One Statute Does Not Impliedly Repeal Another Unless It Is Impossible to Give Effect to Both

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

No Private Right of Action Against Bank for Failure to Comply with Exempt Income... People Should Not Have Been Allowed to Reopen Pretrial Suppression Hearing