PEOPLE v. BEY (2025)

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Curtis J. Farber, J.), rendered April 17, 2019, convicting defendant, upon her guilty plea, of attempted assault in the second degree, and sentencing her to a term of 1 to 3 years, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant's challenge to the validity of her guilty plea is unpreserved (see People v. Conceicao, 26 N.Y.3d 375, 381, 23 N.Y.S.3d 124, 44 N.E.3d 199 [2015];  People v. Correa, 228 A.D.3d 409, 409–410, 211 N.Y.S.3d 360 [2024], lv denied 42 N.Y.3d 1079, 227 N.Y.S.3d 573, 252 N.E.3d 512 [2025]), and we decline to address it in the interest of justice.  As an alternative holding, we reject the claim on the merits.  Where two examining psychiatrists found defendant fit to proceed, the court made adequate inquiry into defendant's mental state during the plea proceeding where “there was no reasonable ground to believe that [s]he was unable to understand the proceedings or to assist in h[er] defense” (People v. Beals, 2 A.D.3d 329, 768 N.Y.S.2d 610 [1st Dept. 2003], lv denied 2 N.Y.3d 761, 778 N.Y.S.2d 779, 811 N.E.2d 41 [2004]).