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DEFENSE COUNSEL APOLOGIZED TO COUNTY COURT AND INDICATED DEFENSE COUNSEL’S BEHAVIOR MAY HAVE CAUSED THE PEOPLE TO HAVE WITHDRAWN A MORE FAVORABLE PLEA OFFER, COUNTY COURT SHOULD HAVE ASSIGNED SUBSTITUTE COUNSEL AND SHOULD HAVE CONDUCTED AN INQUIRY TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE COMPELLED TO REOFFER THE PRIOR PLEA DEAL (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing County Court, determined County Court should have inquired into defense counsel’s apology for his behavior which may have caused the People to withdraw a more favorable plea offer:

County Court failed to take appropriate action in response to defense counsel’s disclosures. Initially, County Court failed to recognize that defense counsel’s statements disqualified him from continuing to represent defendant, particularly if defense counsel were required to provide testimony regarding the events that allegedly took place on the preceding Friday… . Accordingly, when presented with defense counsel’s statements, County Court should have immediately explained the situation to defendant and adjourned the matter to allow for the substitution of counsel.

Following substitution of counsel, County Court should have conducted a hearing to determine whether defendant received the ineffective assistance of counsel during the plea negotiation process and, thus, was entitled to an order directing the People to reoffer the more favorable plea offer that was allegedly available on the preceding Friday… . County Court, however, failed to appreciate that, if defendant made the requisite showing at that hearing, it could in its discretion direct the People to reoffer the prior, more favorable plea, if it was in fact made… . Indeed, a court may direct the People to reoffer a prior, more favorable plea offer on ineffective assistance of counsel grounds only if a defendant demonstrates (1) the existence of a prior, more favorable plea offer, (2) a reasonable probability that, but for defense counsel’s conduct, he or she would have accepted the prior plea offer, (3) a reasonable probability that the agreement would have been presented to and accepted by the court and (4) that the conviction and/or sentence under the terms of the plea offer would have been less severe than the conviction and sentence ultimately imposed … . County Court did not afford defendant the opportunity to make this showing here. Rather, it repeatedly misinformed defendant that it could not direct the People to reoffer the prior plea offer and that defendant could either take a new plea offer or go to trial. It is under these circumstances that defendant accepted the later plea offer and entered the underlying guilty plea. Therefore, we reverse the judgment of conviction and remit the matter for substitution of defense counsel and further proceedings. People v McGee, 2018 NY Slip Op 08203, Third Dept 11-29-18

CRIMINAL LAW (DEFENSE COUNSEL APOLOGIZED TO COUNTY COURT AND INDICATED DEFENSE COUNSEL’S BEHAVIOR MAY HAVE CAUSED THE PEOPLE TO HAVE WITHDRAWN A MORE FAVORABLE PLEA OFFER, COUNTY COURT SHOULD HAVE ASSIGNED SUBSTITUTE COUNSEL AND SHOULD HAVE CONDUCTED AN INQUIRY TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE COMPELLED TO REOFFER THE PRIOR PLEA DEAL (THIRD DEPT))/PLEA OFFERS (CRIMINAL LAW, DEFENSE COUNSEL APOLOGIZED TO COUNTY COURT AND INDICATED DEFENSE COUNSEL’S BEHAVIOR MAY HAVE CAUSED THE PEOPLE TO HAVE WITHDRAWN A MORE FAVORABLE PLEA OFFER, COUNTY COURT SHOULD HAVE ASSIGNED SUBSTITUTE COUNSEL AND SHOULD HAVE CONDUCTED AN INQUIRY TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE COMPELLED TO REOFFER THE PRIOR PLEA DEAL (THIRD DEPT))/ATTORNEYS (CRIMINAL LAW, DEFENSE COUNSEL APOLOGIZED TO COUNTY COURT AND INDICATED DEFENSE COUNSEL’S BEHAVIOR MAY HAVE CAUSED THE PEOPLE TO HAVE WITHDRAWN A MORE FAVORABLE PLEA OFFER, COUNTY COURT SHOULD HAVE ASSIGNED SUBSTITUTE COUNSEL AND SHOULD HAVE CONDUCTED AN INQUIRY TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE COMPELLED TO REOFFER THE PRIOR PLEA DEAL (THIRD DEPT))

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