You are here: / / DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO WITHDRAW HIS PLEA, AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING...

DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO WITHDRAW HIS PLEA, AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING HIS ACCEPTANCE OF THE PLEA OFFER, RAISED THE POSSIBILITY THAT DEFENDANT ACCEPTED THE PLEA OFFER TO MAKE SURE HIS BAIL WOULD NOT BE INCREASED; DEFENDANT WAS WORRIED ABOUT BEING ABLE TO FIND CARE FOR HIS THREE-YEAR-OLD SON; BAIL SHOULD NOT BE A CONSIDERATION IN PLEA NEGOTIATIONS; THE MOTION TO WITHDRAW THE PLEA SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DENIED WITHOUT A HEARING (FIRST DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing County Court, determined it was an abuse of discretion to deny defendant’s motion to withdraw his plea without holding a hearing. The matter was remitted for a hearing. The defendant was given a “last chance” to accept a plea offer just before the suppression hearing began. Defense counsel asked about bail at that time and then defendant met with defense counsel before deciding to take the plea offer. In his motion to withdraw the plea, defendant alleged that, based upon his discussion with defense counsel, he thought his bail would be substantially increased if he didn’t take the plea offer and was concerned about taking care of his three-year-old son. He had brought his son  to court because he couldn’t find a babysitter:

Bail status “has no legitimate connection to the mutuality of advantage underlying plea bargaining because it does not relate either to the more lenient sentence for which the defendant is negotiating or to the waiver of trial and the certainty of conviction the prosecution is seeking” … . Accordingly, “[t]he prospect of an immediate change in bail status, therefore, is an inappropriate consideration in plea negotiations” … .

Here, the plea bargaining process and the defendant’s affidavit raise a legitimate question as to the voluntariness of the defendant’s plea and, therefore, the defendant’s motion should not have been denied without a hearing … . The County Court’s response to defense counsel’s questions regarding bail, which included a statement that this was the defendant’s “last chance” to accept the offer, raise a legitimate question as to whether the defendant understood that the court’s purportedly forthcoming bail decision was contingent on acceptance of the offer. Notably, after the defendant accepted the plea, the court never brought up the issue of changing the defendant’s bail status, effectively continuing his release on cash bail without any changes … .  People v Swain, 2021 NY Slip Op 01430, Second Dept 3-10-21

 

You might also like
THE FACT THAT DEFENDANT’S REPRESENTATIVE’S SIGNATURE AND THE JURAT APPEARED ON AN OTHERWISE BLANK PAGE SEPARATE FROM THE AFFIDAVIT WAS NOT A GROUND FOR DENIAL OF DEFENDANT’S UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (SECOND DEPT).
KNEE INJURY CAUSED BY CARRYING A HEAVY STEEL BEAM DOWN STAIRS IS NOT A COVERED ACCIDENT UNDER LABOR LAW 240 (1) (SECOND DEPT).
NEGLIGENT SUPERVISION WAS NOT THE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE PLAINTIFF-STUDENT’S INJURIES, ANOTHER STUDENT, WHO WAS BEING CHASED BY A DOG WHICH HAD BROKEN LOOSE, RAN INTO PLAINTIFF DURING LACROSSE PRACTICE (SECOND DEPT).
Will Provisions Can Not Be “Re-Written” by Court Even If Intestacy Results
MOTION FOR A DECLARATORY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED BECAUSE THERE WAS NO DEMAND FOR DECLARATORY RELIEF IN THE PLEADINGS (SECOND DEPT).
ATTORNEY WHO DRAFTED THE 2005 WILL APPOINTING THE ATTORNEY AS EXECUTOR WAS REQUIRED TO HAVE THE TESTATOR ACKNOWLEDGE THE TESTATOR HAD BEEN INFORMED THAT FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS WOULD RESULT IN THE ATTORNEY-EXECUTOR’S ENTITLEMENT TO ONLY ONE-HALF THE STATUTORY EXECUTOR’S COMMISSIONS (SECOND DEPT).
DEFENDANT BAR NOT LIABLE FOR INJURIES AND DEATH OF PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT RESULTING FROM AN ALTERCATION ON A PUBLIC ROAD IN FRONT OF THE BAR, BAR EXERCISED NO CONTROL OVER THE AREA WHERE THE ALTERCATION OCCURRED (SECOND DEPT).
TENANT’S INSURANCE POLICY NAMED THE OWNER OF THE BUILDING AS AN ADDITIONAL INSURED, PLAINTIFF FELL ON A STAIRCASE IN AN AREA NOT LEASED TO THE TENANT, PLAINTIFF COULD NOT RECOVER UNDER THE ADDITIONAL INSURED PROVISION OF THE TENANT’S POLICY (SECOND 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 © 2025 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION, THE JUDGE SHOULD HAVE FIRST DETERMINED WHETHER ANY... THE COMPLAINT IN THIS LABOR LAW 200 ACTION ALLEGED INJURY CAUSED BY A DANGEROUS...