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THE APPEAL WAIVER WAS INVALID; ALTHOUGH DEFENDANT WAS SUFFERING FROM MENTAL ILLNESS AND WAS APPARENTLY ATTEMPTING TO COMMIT SUICIDE WHEN HE CAUSED THE TRAFFIC ACCIDENT RESULTING IN THE ASSAULT CHARGE, THE MAJORITY CONCLUDED THE SEVEN-YEAR SENTENCE FOR ASSAULT (THE MAXIMUM) SHOULD NOT BE REDUCED; A TWO-JUSTICE DISSENT ARGUED THE SENTENCE SHOULD BE REDUCED; A CONCURRENCE ARGUED THE APPEAL WAIVER WAS VALID (THIRD DEPT). ​

The Third Department, over a two-justice dissent and a concurrence, determined (1) the waiver of appeal was invalid, and (2) the sentence was not harsh and excessive. The dissenters argued defendant exhibited signs of mental illness and the traffic accident which was the basis of the assault charge was a suicide attempt, warranting a lesser sentence and rehabilitative measures. The concurrence argued the appeal waiver was valid:

The written appeal waiver executed by defendant during the plea allocution is overly broad in several respects, as it purported to create an absolute bar to a direct appeal by indicating that the appeal waiver “mark[s] the end of [his] case” and precludes him from pursuing collateral relief “in any state or federal court” … . Although County Court’s brief oral allocution advised defendant that certain appellate rights survive the waiver, this was not sufficient to cure the defects in the written waiver … and did not establish that he understood that some collateral and federal review survives the waiver …  Consequently, defendant did not knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waive the right to appeal … .

From the dissent:

… [I]t is evident that defendant’s criminal conduct was not borne of a malicious intent nor of a conscious choice to act with reckless disregard for the lives of others; rather, the entirety of his conduct appears attributable to his profound mental illness, which was no longer adequately controlled at the time of the incident and casts serious doubt on the level of his culpability. Moreover, the record reveals that, at the time of the incident, defendant was 26 years of age, had no history of prior unlawful conduct and had been a productive member of society, as demonstrated by, among other things, his participation in a reserve officer training corps program while attending college … . Under these circumstances, we find that the societal benefits of deterrence and punishment achieved through a seven-year term of imprisonment, which is the maximum legal sentence for his conviction, are minimal and, more importantly, they are far outweighed by the rehabilitative considerations that support reducing this specific defendant’s sentence … . People v Appiah, 2023 NY Slip Op 03955, Third Dept 7-27-23

Practice Point: The appeal waiver was deemed invalid because it intimated all appellate issues were precluded.

Practice Point: Although defendant was suffering from mental illness and was apparently attempting to commit suicide when he caused the traffic accident (the basis of his assault conviction), the majority concluded his seven-year sentence should not be reduced. A two-justice dissent disagreed.

 

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