THE WAIVER OF APPEAL WAS INVALID, THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ORDER OF PROTECTION ISSUED AT SENTENCING WERE NOT MET (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, vacating an order of protection issued at sentencing and affirming the conviction, determined defendant’s waiver of his right to appeal was invalid:

… [T]he record does not demonstrate that the defendant understood the nature of the right to appeal and the consequences of waiving it … . The Supreme Court did not provide the defendant with an adequate explanation of the nature of the right to appeal or the consequences of waiving that right … . The court’s explanation was little more than a tautology: “[Y]ou have given up your right to appeal. Which means there will be no appeal with regards to anything in your case, and the only exception to that would be an illegal sentence or some constitutional issue. But basically you have given up your right to appeal. Do you understand?” … . Furthermore, the court’s statements at the plea allocution suggested that waiving the right to appeal was mandatory rather than a right which the defendant was being asked to voluntarily relinquish, and the court never elicited an acknowledgment that the defendant was voluntarily waiving his right to appeal… .

Although the record on appeal reflects that the defendant signed a written appeal waiver form, a written waiver “is not a complete substitute for an on-the-record explanation of the nature of the right to appeal” … . * * *

… [T]the Supreme Court failed to state on the record the reasons for issuing the order of protection at the time of sentencing …  Furthermore, … the court failed to fix the duration of the order of protection … . Under these circumstances, we vacate the order of protection issued at the time of sentencing … . People v Moncrieft, 2019 NY Slip Op 00466, Second Dept 1-23-19