People v Perez
2009 NY Slip Op 06576 [65 AD3d 1167]
September 15, 2009
Appellate Division, Second Department
As corrected through Wednesday, November 4, 2009


The People of the State of New York,Respondent,
v
Carlos Perez, Appellant.

[*1]Lynn W. L. Fahey, New York, N.Y. (Barry Stendig of counsel), for appellant, andappellant pro se.

Charles J. Hynes, District Attorney, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Leonard Joblove and Lori Glachman ofcounsel; Robert Ho on the brief), for respondent.

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Mangano,Jr., J.), rendered February 26, 2007, convicting him of attempted rape in the second degree, uponhis plea of guilty, and imposing sentence.

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

The defendant's contention that the Supreme Court erred in failing to inquire into his mentalcompetency to plead guilty is unpreserved for appellate review (see CPL 470.05; People v Matthews, 21 AD3d 499,500 [2005]; People v Bristol, 273 AD2d 248, 249 [2000]; People v Durant, 198AD2d 515 [1993]; People v Willingham, 194 AD2d 703 [1993]). In any event, thiscontention is without merit. The defendant provided unequivocal and appropriate responsesthroughout the proceedings, indicating that he understood his rights, which he knowingly,voluntarily, and intelligently waived. Moreover, he meaningfully participated in the proceedingsby filing pro se motions. Thus, the court had no basis upon which to conduct an inquiry about thedefendant's mental competency (seePeople v Matos, 27 AD3d 485 [2006]; People v Wheeler, 249 AD2d 774[1998]).

Contrary to the defendant's contention, he was not denied the effective assistance of counsel.Counsel filed pretrial motions on the defendant's behalf, obtained a suppression hearing, andnegotiated a favorable plea agreement which limited the defendant's term of imprisonment. Thus,defense counsel's representation was meaningful (see People v Caban, 5 NY3d 143, 152 [2005]; People vBenevento, 91 NY2d 708, 712 [1998]).

The defendant's remaining contentions, including those raised in his supplemental pro sebrief, are without merit. Rivera, J.P., Florio, Dickerson and Austin, JJ., concur.


NYPTI Decisions © 2026 is a project of New York Prosecutors Training Institute (NYPTI) made possible by leveraging the work we've done providing online research and tools to prosecutors.

NYPTI would like to thank New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, New York State Senate's Open Legislation Project, New York State Unified Court System, New York State Law Reporting Bureau and Free Law Project for their invaluable assistance making this project possible.

Install the free RECAP extensions to help contribute to this archive. See https://free.law/recap/ for more information.