THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK RESPONDENT v. CHRISTOPHER NEAL JR DEFENDANT APPELLANT (2026)

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

It is hereby ORDERED that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.

Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him, upon his guilty plea, of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (Penal Law § 265.03 [3]). Contrary to defendant's contention, he validly waived his right to appeal (see People v Moody, 240 AD3d 1323, 1324 [4th Dept 2025], lv denied 44 NY3d 1012 [2025]; People v Williams, 237 AD3d 1581, 1582 [4th Dept 2025], lv denied 44 NY3d 985 [2025]; see generally People v Thomas, 34 NY3d 545, 564-566 [2019], cert denied 589 US 1302 [2020]). While defendant is correct that Supreme Court failed to ascertain defendant's understanding of the contents of the written waiver of the right to appeal on the record, that “deficiency ․ is of no moment where, as here, the oral waiver was adequate” (People v Brinson, 240 AD3d 1376, 1377 [4th Dept 2025], lv denied 44 NY3d 1064 [2025]). Defendant's valid waiver of the right to appeal encompasses his challenge to the severity of the sentence (see People v Lopez, 6 NY3d 248, 256 [2006]; People v Hidalgo, 91 NY2d 733, 737 [1998]).

Defendant further contends that the court abused its discretion in denying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea on the ground of ineffective assistance of counsel without holding a hearing. We reject that contention. As an initial matter, we note that defendant's contention survives his valid waiver of the right to appeal “ ‘only insofar as he contends that his plea was infected by the allegedly ineffective assistance and that he entered the plea because of his attorney's allegedly poor performance’ ” (People v Strickland, 103 AD3d 1178, 1178 [4th Dept 2013]; see People v Wong, 151 AD3d 1853, 1854 [4th Dept 2017], lv denied 30 NY3d 954 [2017]). “When a defendant moves to withdraw a guilty plea, the nature and extent of the fact-finding inquiry rest[ ] largely in the discretion of the Judge to whom the motion is made and a hearing will be granted only in rare instances” (People v Brown, 14 NY3d 113, 116 [2010] [internal quotation marks omitted]; see People v Ciskiewic, 219 AD3d 1696, 1696 [4th Dept 2023], lv denied 40 NY3d 1091 [2024]). Here, “nothing in the record casts doubt on the apparent effectiveness of counsel” (People v Raghnal, 185 AD3d 1411, 1413 [4th Dept 2020], lv denied 35 NY3d 1115 [2020] [internal quotation marks omitted]), “[d]efendant admitted each element of the offense[ ] during his plea allocution and did not claim either that he was innocent or that he had been coerced[,] ․ [and defendant's claims] presented credibility issues that the court could properly resolve without a hearing” (People v Newsome, 140 AD3d 1695, 1696 [4th Dept 2016] [internal quotation marks omitted]).

Entered: April 24, 2026

Ann Dillon Flynn

Clerk of the Court