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THE DEFENDANT’S MAXIMUM SENTENCE WAS 20 YEARS BUT THE JUDGE REPEATEDLY TOLD DEFENDANT HE WAS FACING 45 YEARS; THE MAJORITY DETERMINED THE GUILTY PLEA WAS NOT VOLUNTARILY ENTERED; THE DISSENT ARGUED THE ISSUE WAS NOT PRESERVED (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, reversing the Appellate Division, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Rivera, over a two-justice dissent, determined defendant’s guilty plea was not entered voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently because the judge repeatedly told the defendant he was facing 45 years in prison when his sentence was capped at 20. The dissent argued the error was not preserved:

The issue on appeal is whether defendant Marquese Scott’s guilty plea was knowing, voluntary, and intelligent. Supreme Court made an egregious error during the plea proceedings, repeatedly asserting that defendant faced up to 45 years’ incarceration if found guilty after trial, when his maximum exposure was statutorily capped at 20 years. As we have long recognized, inaccurate information regarding a sentence is a significant factor in determining whether a plea was voluntary. Given defendant’s young age, his inexperience facing serious charges with the risk of consecutive sentencing, and the vast disparity between the plea offer of 6 to 8 years and the court’s erroneous assertion that he faced 25 years more than the law allowed, we hold that defendant’s guilty plea was not the result of a free and informed choice. Accordingly, defendant’s plea cannot stand. * * *

From the dissent:

With only narrow exceptions, we have unequivocally required a defendant to preserve a challenge to the voluntariness of their plea by making “a motion to withdraw the plea under CPL 220.60 (3) or a motion to vacate the judgment of conviction under CPL 440.10” … . People v Scott, 2025 NY Slip Op 01562, CtApp 3-18-25

Practice Point: A guilty plea entered after the defendant is erroneously told he is facing 45 years in prison when the sentence is statutorily capped at 20 is not voluntary.​

Practice Point: Here the dissent argued the majority should not have carved out a new exception to the preservation requirement to consider the merits of this case.

 

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