PEOPLE v. CABRERA (2025)

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Steven Hornstein, J.), rendered September 24, 2019, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of attempted robbery in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to a term of 11/212 to 3 years, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant's challenge to the grand jury proceeding based on the prosecutor's mischaracterization of his video-recorded statement goes to the sufficiency of the evidence in support of the indictment and therefore was forfeited upon his guilty plea (People v. Hansen, 95 N.Y.2d 227, 232, 715 N.Y.S.2d 369, 738 N.E.2d 773 [2000]).  Furthermore, “[r]egardless of whether defendant validly waived his right to appeal, by pleading guilty, defendant forfeited review of his claim that prosecutorial misconduct impaired the integrity of the grand jury proceedings” (People v. Correa, 228 A.D.3d 409, 410, 211 N.Y.S.3d 360 [1st Dept. 2024], lv denied 42 N.Y.3d 1079, 227 N.Y.S.3d 573, 252 N.E.3d 512 [2025]).  In any event, although the prosecutor's mischaracterization of defendant's earlier statement was improper, defendant had an opportunity to answer the prosecutor's question and deny making that earlier statement;  thus, the prosecutor's conduct “did not rise to the level of impairment of the integrity of the proceedings” (id.).