| People v Hughes |
| 2009 NY Slip Op 04262 [62 AD3d 1026] |
| May 26, 2009 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v James D. Hughes, Appellant. |
—[*1] Thomas J. Spota, District Attorney, Riverhead, N.Y. (Edward A. Bannan of counsel), forrespondent.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Suffolk County (Hudson, J.),rendered January 4, 2007, convicting him of robbery in the second degree (two counts), upon hisplea of guilty, and imposing sentence.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
A motion to withdraw a plea of guilty rests within the sound discretion of the County Court(see CPL 220.60 [3]; People vBullard, 33 AD3d 715 [2006]; People v Turner, 23 AD3d 503 [2005]; People v Ramsingh,267 AD2d 406 [1999]), whose determination will generally not be disturbed absent animprovident exercise of discretion (seePeople v DeLeon, 40 AD3d 1008 [2007]). Here, the County Court providentlyexercised its discretion in denying, without a hearing, the defendant's pro se application towithdraw his plea of guilty, since his unsubstantiated claim of coercion was refuted by hisstatements during the plea allocution (see People v Caufield, 57 AD3d 796 [2008], lv denied 12NY3d 781 [2009]; People v Drago,50 AD3d 920 [2008]; People v Fernandez, 291 AD2d 456 [2002]).
The defendant's valid waiver of his right to appeal precludes appellate review of hiscontentions that the sentence imposed was excessive and that he was denied the effectiveassistance of counsel except to the extent that the alleged ineffective assistance affected thevoluntariness of his plea (see People vLopez, 6 NY3d 248, 255 [2006]; People v Seaberg, 74 NY2d 1 [1989]; People v Perez, 51 AD3d 1043[2008]). To the extent that the defendant is claiming that the ineffective assistance of counselrendered his plea involuntary, the record reveals that the defendant received an advantageousplea, and nothing in the record casts doubt on the apparent effectiveness of counsel (seePeople v Ford, 86 NY2d 397 [1995]; People v Rossetti, 55 AD3d 637, 638 [2008]; People vBoodhoo, 191 AD2d 448 [1993]). Rivera, J.P., Dillon, Miller, Balkin and Leventhal, JJ.,concur.