| People v Gordon |
| 2016 NY Slip Op 03919 [139 AD3d 1265] |
| May 19, 2016 |
| Appellate Division, Third Department |
[*1]
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, vCal Gordon, Appellant. |
Susan Patnode, Rural Law Center of New York, Castleton (Cynthia Feathers ofcounsel), for appellant.
Kathleen B. Hogan, District Attorney, Lake George (Emilee B. Davenport ofcounsel), for respondent.
Devine, J. Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Warren County (Hall Jr.,J.), rendered November 7, 2014, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of thecrime of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the second degree.
Defendant, who was on parole, pleaded guilty to the crime of criminal sale of acontrolled substance in the second degree in satisfaction of a 35-count indictment thatcharged him and his fiancée with numerous crimes in connection with theirinvolvement in multiple drug transactions. Pursuant to the plea agreement, defendantexecuted a written waiver of appeal in open court. County Court thereafter sentenceddefendant, as a second felony drug offender previously convicted of a violent felony, toan agreed-upon prison term of 17 years to be followed by five years of postreleasesupervision. County Court also ordered defendant's sentence to run consecutively to anyremaining undischarged term of imprisonment that he was required to serve. Defendantnow appeals.
We affirm. Contrary to defendant's initial contention, his waiver of the right toappeal was knowing, intelligent and voluntary (see People v Lopez, 6 NY3d 248, 256 [2006]). Defendant,who had extensive prior knowledge of the criminal justice system, was advised duringthe plea colloquy "that the right to appeal is separate and distinct from those rightsautomatically forfeited upon a plea of guilty," and defendant acknowledged that he wasexpected to waive that right as a component of the plea agreement (People vLopez, 6 NY3d at 256; see[*2]People v Sanders, 25 NY3d 337, 341-342[2015]). Defendant then executed a detailed written waiver of the right to appeal andadvised County Court that he had only done so after discussing the document withdefense counsel. The written waiver and plea colloquy accordingly establish thatdefendant knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to appeal from his conviction andsentence (see People vVellon, 128 AD3d 1274, 1274-1275 [2015], lv denied 26 NY3d 1043[2015]; People v Brown,125 AD3d 1049, 1049 [2015]). Defendant's valid waiver precludes his furtherargument that the sentence imposed was harsh and excessive (see People v Toback, 125AD3d 1060, 1061 [2015], lv denied 25 NY3d 993 [2015]; People v Hopper, 39 AD3d1030, 1032 [2007]).
Lahtinen, J.P., McCarthy, Clark and Mulvey, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgmentis affirmed.