| People v Brown |
| 2021 NY Slip Op 04027 [195 AD3d 943] |
| June 23, 2021 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
[*1]
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v James R. Brown, Appellant. |
Thomas R. Villecco, Jericho, NY, for appellant.
David M. Hoovler, District Attorney, Goshen, NY (Edward D. Saslaw of counsel), forrespondent.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Orange County (CraigStephen Brown, J.), rendered July 20, 2018, convicting him of criminal sexual act in the firstdegree, upon his plea of guilty, and imposing sentence. The appeal brings up for review thedenial, after a hearing, of that branch of the defendant's omnibus motion which was to suppresshis statements to law enforcement officials.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The record does not establish that the defendant knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligentlywaived his right to appeal (see People vBradshaw, 18 NY3d 257 [2011]). The County Court mischaracterized the nature of theright to appeal by stating that the defendant's conviction and sentence would be final (see People v Bisono, 36 NY3d1013, 1017-1018 [2020]; People vThomas, 34 NY3d 545, 564-566 [2019]), and the written waiver form did not overcomethe deficiencies in the court's explanation of the right to appeal, as it did not contain clarifyinglanguage that appellate review remained available for select issues (see People v Thomas,34 NY3d at 566). Thus, the purported waiver does not preclude this Court's review of thedefendant's challenge to the County Court's suppression determination.
The County Court properly denied that branch of the defendant's omnibus motion which wasto suppress his statements to law enforcement officials, because he was not subject tointerrogation (see Rhode Island v Innis, 446 US 291, 301-302 [1980]; People vLynes, 49 NY2d 286, 294-295 [1980]). Rivera, J.P., Duffy, Brathwaite Nelson and Wooten,JJ., concur.