Attorney’s Telling the Court There Was No Reason Sentencing Should Not Go Forward in the Face of Defendant’s Pro Se Motion to Withdraw His Guilty Plea Adversely Affected Defendant’s Right to Counsel
The Second Department ordered that a hearing be held on defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea and that another lawyer be assigned. When defendant made his pro se motion to withdraw his plea, his attorney told the court there was no reason sentencing should not go forward. The attorney’s taking a position adverse to the defendant’s adversely affected the defendant’s right to counsel:
The defendant’s right to counsel was adversely affected when his attorney took a position adverse to his … . The County Court should have assigned a different attorney to represent the defendant before it determined the defendant’s motion to withdraw his plea of guilty … . Accordingly, the matter must be remitted to the County Court, Westchester County, for a hearing on the defendant’s motion to withdraw his plea of guilty, for which the defendant shall be appointed new counsel, and for a new determination of the motion thereafter. People v King, 2015 NY Slip Op 05209, 2nd Dept 6-17-15