THE PARKER WARNINGS DID NOT SPECIFICALLY WARN DEFENDANT HIS SENTENCE WOULD BE ENHANCED IF HE WERE ARRESTED BETWEEN THE PLEA AND SENTENCING, DEFENSE COUNSEL WAS INEFFECTIVE FOR FAILING TO CHALLENGE THE ENHANCED SENTENCE ON THAT GROUND, MATTER REMITTED FOR SENTENCING TO THE AGREED TERM OR FOR AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DEFENDANT TO WITHDRAW HIS PLEA (THIRD DEPT).
The Third Department, reversing County Court, determined the Parker warnings [notifying defendant of the enhanced sentencing consequences of misconduct between the plea and the sentencing] were inadequate and defendant’s counsel was ineffective for not raising the issue. Defendant’s sentence was five years longer than the sentence promised at the time of the plea because he was rearrested. The Parker warnings did not clearly inform defendant his sentence would be enhanced if he was rearrested. The failure to preserve the error was excused because of the ineffective assistance. The Parker warnings, in relevant part, were as follows: ” COURT: Don’t get in any trouble at the jail, don’t get rearrested, don’t get involved with contraband, or break the law, or anything like that in jail, you can do that? DEFENDANT: Yes, sir COURT: Thirdly, the [P]robation [D]epartment is going to be in to see you. They are going to do a presentence report. I ask you to be cooperative with them and honest with them and continue to express the remorse that you show here today because if you don’t cooperate with them, and if you are not honest with them, or if you don’t continue to accept remorse and responsibility for what you did then your plea will stand and I will be free to impose a sentence of 25 years to life and say things to make sure that you never see parole, so, please, cooperate with your probation officer:”
… [C]ounsel was ineffective for failing to challenge the enhanced sentence on the ground that County Court did not insure that defendant was fully aware of the consequences of being rearrested prior to sentencing. A successful challenge to the enhanced sentence would have resulted in County Court having to either impose the agreed-upon sentence or provide defendant with an opportunity to withdraw his plea … . … People v Hunter, 2019 NY Slip Op 04496, Third Dept 6-6-19