People v. Cuevas

Summary

The Appellate Division, First Department unanimously affirmed Julio Cuevas's judgment of conviction for criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree following his guilty plea. The court held that Cuevas's challenge to the adequacy of the sentencing inquiry regarding his post-plea statements was unpreserved and, in any event, the record did not cast doubt on the voluntariness of his plea.

Holdings

1. A defendant's claim that the trial court failed to conduct a more searching inquiry into postplea statements at sentencing challenging the factual basis of the guilty plea is unpreserved when raised for the first time on appeal; the narrow exception to preservation does not apply.
2. The record did not cast doubt on the voluntariness of defendant's guilty plea and did not require a more detailed sentencing inquiry.

Questions Presented

1. Whether defendant preserved his claim that the trial court was required to conduct a more detailed inquiry at sentencing after defendant made postplea statements challenging the factual basis of his guilty plea.
2. Whether the appellate record nevertheless demonstrated that defendant's guilty plea was involuntary or required further inquiry despite the lack of preservation and the absence of a motion to withdraw the plea or vacate the judgment.

Disposition

affirmed