You are here: / / A DEFENDANT MAY PLEAD GUILTY TO A CRIME WHICH IS A LEGAL IMPOSSIBILITY...

A DEFENDANT MAY PLEAD GUILTY TO A CRIME WHICH IS A LEGAL IMPOSSIBILITY OR FOR WHICH THERE IS NO FACTUAL BASIS AS LONG AS IT IS SUBJECT TO A LESSER PENALTY THAN THE CHARGED OFFENSE(S) (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department noted that a defendant may plead guilty to a crime which is a legal impossibility and for which there is no factual basis, as long as it is a reduced charge:

Assuming without deciding that defendant is correct in claiming that his incarceration rendered any attempt to possess the pills recovered from his residence a legal impossibility, that was no bar to him “plead[ing] guilty to a nonexistent crime in satisfaction of an [accusatory instrument] charging a crime for which a greater penalty may be imposed” … . To the extent that defendant’s argument may also be construed as a claim that it was factually impossible for him to commit the crime, and assuming that such an argument survives his appeal waiver … , a factual basis is not required for a guilty plea to a reduced charge … . People v Bonacci, 2020 NY Slip Op 06980, Third Dept 11-25-20

 

You might also like
CLAIMANT ENROLLED IN A BARBER TRAINING PROGRAM AFTER HIS REGULAR UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS HAD RUN OUT, HE WAS NOT ENTITLED TO ADDITIONAL BENEFITS (THIRD DEPT).
In the Absence of a Colloquy Conducted by the Court, the Circumstances Indicated that Mother Knowingly, Intelligently and Voluntarily Waiver Her Right to Counsel In a Custody Proceeding
AS PART OF A PLEA BARGAIN, THE JUDGE PROMISED TO ORDER DEFENDANT TO BE ENROLLED IN THE COMPREHENSIVE ALCOHOL AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT (CASAT) PROGRAM; BECAUSE DEFENDANT WAS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE PROGRAM, HIS MOTION TO VACATE HIS GUILTY PLEA SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (THIRD DEPT).
Prisoner Must Object at Hearing to Obtain Judicial Review
THE OMISSION OF THE TIME AND PLACE OF THE OFFENSE FROM THE SUPERIOR COURT INFORMATION WAS NOT A JURISDICTIONAL DEFECT AND ANY ERRORS WERE FORFEITED BY THE GUILTY PLEA (THIRD DEPT).
NEW YORK’S MARIHUANA REGULATION AND TAXATION ACT (MRTA) IS NOT PREEMPTED BY THE FEDERAL CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT (CSA) (THIRD DEPT).
DEFENDANT WAS NOT FULLY INFORMED OF THE RIGHTS HE WAS GIVING UP BY PLEADING GUILTY, CONVICTION REVERSED IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE (THIRD DEPT).
NEW YORK DOES NOT HAVE LONG-ARM JURISDICTION OVER A MICHIGAN MANUFACTURER OF ALLEGEDLY DEFECTIVE UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAV’S) PURCHASED BY SUNY STONY BROOK FOR THE DELIVERY OF MEDICAL SUPPLIES IN MADAGASCAR; TWO-JUSTICE DISSENT (THIRD DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

PETITIONER IS ENTITLED TO DISCOVERY IN THE ARTICLE 78 PROCEEDING CONTESTING... THE DE BOUR STREET STOP REQUIREMENTS, NOT THE TRAFFIC STOP REQUIREMENTS, APPLY...