| People v Morton |
| 2011 NY Slip Op 03923 [84 AD3d 1507] |
| May 12, 2011 |
| Appellate Division, Third Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v CarmineMorton, Appellant. |
—[*1] Robert M. Carney, District Attorney, Schenectady (Caroline E. Nelson, Law Intern), forrespondent.
Garry, J. Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Schenectady County (Drago, J.),rendered June 24, 2008, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of criminalpossession of a weapon in the second degree.
Upon being advised that two men were brandishing guns in a parking lot, the policedepartment dispatched patrol officers to the scene. The officers ultimately discovered twohandguns in a van in which defendant was a passenger. In a six-count indictment, he was chargedwith various degrees of criminal possession of a weapon. On defendant's motion, a suppressionhearing was conducted before a Judicial Hearing Officer, who set forth his findings andrecommended denial. Prior to County Court's determination, defendant pleaded guilty to onecount of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and, as part of the plea, waivedhis right to appeal. He was sentenced as a second felony offender to a prison term of five years,followed by five years of postrelease supervision. Defendant appeals, raising issues relative to thesuppression motion.
The issues raised on this appeal are foreclosed upon two separate grounds. First, the JudicialHearing Officer is vested with limited powers (see CPL 255.20 [4]; see generallyPeople v Scalza, 76 NY2d 604 [1990]), and defendant pleaded guilty while the motion wasstill pending, [*2]thus waiving the right to appellate review (see People v Lewis, 39 AD3d1025, 1026 [2007]). Further, there is no challenge to the validity of his waiver of appeal,which was executed in writing and accompanied by an appropriate discussion with CountyCourt; this also forecloses the issues that defendant raises (see People v Kemp, 94 NY2d831, 833 [1999]; People v White, 75AD3d 837, 838 [2010], lv denied 15 NY3d 925 [2010]; People v Schmidt, 57 AD3d 1104[2008]).
Mercure, J.P., Lahtinen, Malone Jr. and Kavanagh, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgment isaffirmed.