People v Royal

2018 NY Slip Op 03176 [161 AD3d 1217]

May 3, 2018

Appellate Division, Third Department

As corrected through Wednesday, June 27, 2018

[*1](May 3, 2018)

The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v Tariq Royal, Appellant.

Donnial K. Hinds, Albany, for appellant.

P. David Soares, District Attorney, Albany (Emily A. Schultz of counsel), forrespondent.

Devine, J. Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Albany County (Lynch, J.),rendered August 18, 2015, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of attemptedcriminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree.

Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, and in full satisfaction of a nine-count indictment,defendant pleaded guilty to attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degreeand waived his right to appeal the conviction and sentence. Consistent with the terms of the pleaagreement, County Court sentenced defendant, as a second felony offender, to 41/2years in prison and three years of postrelease supervision.

Defendant now appeals.^[FN*]

We affirm. Contrary to defendant's contention, his waiver of the right to appeal was knowing,intelligent and voluntary. County Court distinguished the right to appeal as separate and distinctfrom the rights automatically forfeited by a guilty plea, and defendant acknowledged that hesigned and understood the written waiver after conferring with counsel regarding its contents (see People v Hall, 147 AD3d1151, 1151 [2017], lv denied 29 NY3d 1080 [2017]; [*2]Peoplev Dolberry, 147 AD3d 1149, 1150 [2017], lv denied 29 NY3d 1078 [2017]).Defendant's valid appeal waiver precludes his remaining contentions that his sentence is harshand excessive and that County Court should have granted him judicial diversion to a substanceabuse treatment program (see People vWood, 150 AD3d 1544, 1545 [2017]; People v Roche, 106 AD3d 1328, 1329 [2013]).

Egan Jr., J.P., Clark, Mulvey and Rumsey, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgment isaffirmed.

Footnote *:We note that this appeal waspreviously withdrawn at defendant's request, and his subsequent motion to reinstate the appealwas recently granted.