People v Atkins
2012 NY Slip Op 01331 [92 AD3d 551]
February 21, 2012
Appellate Division, First Department
As corrected through Wednesday, March 28, 2012


The People of the State of New York,Respondent,
v
Michael Atkins, Appellant.

[*1]Richard M. Greenberg, Office of the Appellate Defender, New York (LaurenStephens-Davidowitz of counsel), for appellant.

Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Timothy C. Stone of counsel), forrespondent.

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Carol Berkman, J.), rendered September 16,2009, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of a controlledsubstance in the fourth degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony drug offender whose priorfelony conviction was a violent felony, to a term of 3½ years, unanimously affirmed.

The record establishes the voluntariness of defendant's plea, and the court properly denieddefendant's plea withdrawal motion (see People v Frederick, 45 NY2d 520 [1978]).During the plea allocution, whenever defendant made a statement creating an ambiguity aboutthe voluntariness of the plea, the court made a further inquiry that established that defendant waspleading guilty of his own free will. The court made clear to defendant that it was his choicewhether to plead guilty or go to trial.

We have considered and rejected defendant's remaining claims. Concur—Andrias,J.P., Saxe, Acosta, Freedman and Richter, JJ.


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