Summary
This Appellate Division decision addresses a defendant's appeal from a guilty plea conviction for robbery, criminal use of a firearm, and grand larceny, as well as his pro se motion to vacate under CPL 440.10. The court finds that the defendant's claims regarding grand jury testimony, speedy trial, and multiplicitous counts were waived on direct appeal. However, the court grants vacatur of the guilty plea because County Court breached the plea agreement by ordering enrollment in a substance abuse treatment program that the defendant was statutorily ineligible to receive. The matter is reversed and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this decision.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether a guilty plea induced by an unfulfilled promise of CASAT enrollment must be vacated.
- Whether the County Court erred in denying the motion to vacate on the grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel and grand‑jury instruction deficiencies.
Holdings
- The guilty plea must be vacated because the promise of CASAT enrollment was unfulfilled and could not be honored.
- The County Court properly denied the motion; the defendant failed to preserve the claims on direct appeal and did not show prejudice from alleged ineffective assistance or grand‑jury instruction errors.
Key quotations
“A guilty plea induced by an unfulfilled promise either must be vacated or the promise honored”
Factual background
Robinson pleaded guilty to robbery in the second degree, criminal use of a firearm in the second degree, and grand larceny in the fourth degree. The plea agreement promised enrollment in the Comprehensive Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment (CASAT) program, which is only available to drug‑related offenders. Robinson was not eligible for CASAT and was not enrolled. He later moved pro se to vacate the judgment, alleging insufficient grand‑jury notice, an involuntary plea, and ineffective assistance of counsel.
Procedural history
The County Court of Tioga County convicted Robinson after a guilty plea that included a promise of enrollment in the CASAT program. The court later denied Robinson's motion to vacate the judgment without a hearing. Robinson appealed both the conviction and the denial of the vacatur motion.
Remand instructions
Matter remitted to the County Court of Tioga County for further proceedings not inconsistent with this Court's decision.