People v. Freeman

Summary

The New York Appellate Division, Third Department, affirmed Michael C. Freeman's judgment of conviction for first-degree burglary following his guilty plea. The court held that his challenge to the voluntariness of the plea based on cognitive limitations was unpreserved and, alternatively, unsupported by the record.

Holdings

1. A challenge to the voluntariness of a guilty plea is unpreserved when the defendant fails to make an appropriate postallocution motion despite an opportunity to do so before sentencing.
2. The record did not establish that defendant's cognitive limitations rendered him incapable of understanding the proceedings or voluntarily entering his guilty plea.
3. A challenge to the voluntariness of a guilty plea survives even a valid waiver of the right to appeal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether defendant preserved his challenge to the knowing, voluntary, and intelligent nature of his guilty plea by making the required postallocution motion before sentencing.
2. Whether the record triggered the narrow exception to the preservation requirement.
3. Whether defendant's cognitive limitations rendered him incapable of understanding the proceedings or voluntarily entering his guilty plea.
4. Whether the validity of defendant's appeal waiver barred review of his plea-voluntariness claim.

Disposition

affirmed