PLEA COLLOQUY RAISED QUESTIONS ABOUT DEFENDANT’S MENTAL HEALTH, NARROW EXCEPTION TO PRESERVATION REQUIREMENT ALLOWED ISSUE TO BE HEARD ON APPEAL, PLEA VACATED (THIRD DEPT).
The Third Department, vacating defendant’s guilty plea, determined that defendant, during the plea colloquy, raised a mental health issue that was not adequately addressed by the judge. Because the issue was raised in the colloquy, it was appealable despite the lack of preservation:
… [D]efendant acknowledged during the plea colloquy that he had mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder that caused him to experience hallucinations, that he heard a voice telling him to commit the crime at issue and that he was taking multiple medications, including Zoloft, to address his mental health problems. Although County Court observed that defendant appeared coherent and responsive during the plea proceedings, it did not ascertain if he was aware that a possible defense, emanating from his mental state at the time that he committed the crime, was available and that he was waiving it by pleading guilty. Inasmuch as an essential element of attempted burglary in the third degree is the intent to commit a crime inside a building that one has unlawfully entered … , and defendant’s mental state potentially negated such intent, County Court should have conducted a further inquiry before accepting defendant’s guilty plea… . Accordingly, under the circumstances presented, we find that the guilty plea was not knowing, voluntary and intelligent and must be vacated. People v Rogers, 2017 NY Slip Op 07889, Third Dept 11-9-17
CRIMINAL LAW (GUILTY PLEA, PLEA COLLOQUY RAISED QUESTIONS ABOUT DEFENDANT’S MENTAL HEALTH, NARROW EXCEPTION TO PRESERVATION REQUIREMENT ALLOWED ISSUE TO BE HEARD ON APPEAL, PLEA VACATED (THIRD DEPT))/APPEALS (CRIMINAL LAW, GUILTY PLEA, PLEA COLLOQUY RAISED QUESTIONS ABOUT DEFENDANT’S MENTAL HEALTH, NARROW EXCEPTION TO PRESERVATION REQUIREMENT ALLOWED ISSUE TO BE HEARD ON APPEAL, PLEA VACATED (THIRD DEPT))/GUILTY PLEA (PLEA COLLOQUY RAISED QUESTIONS ABOUT DEFENDANT’S MENTAL HEALTH, NARROW EXCEPTION TO PRESERVATION REQUIREMENT ALLOWED ISSUE TO BE HEARD ON APPEAL, PLEA VACATED (THIRD DEPT))/COLLOQUY (CRIMINAL LAW, PLEA COLLOQUY RAISED QUESTIONS ABOUT DEFENDANT’S MENTAL HEALTH, NARROW EXCEPTION TO PRESERVATION REQUIREMENT ALLOWED ISSUE TO BE HEARD ON APPEAL, PLEA VACATED (THIRD DEPT))/MENTAL HEALTH (CRIMINAL LAW, GUILTY PLEA, PLEA COLLOQUY RAISED QUESTIONS ABOUT DEFENDANT’S MENTAL HEALTH, NARROW EXCEPTION TO PRESERVATION REQUIREMENT ALLOWED ISSUE TO BE HEARD ON APPEAL, PLEA VACATED (THIRD DEPT))