THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK RESPONDENT v. SARAH MURPHY SEARS DEFENDANT APPELLANT (2018)

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

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

Memorandum:  Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting her, upon her plea of guilty, of attempted assault in the second degree (Penal Law §§ 110.00, 120.05[2] ).  Contrary to her contention, the record demonstrates that defendant validly waived her right to appeal (see generally People v. Lopez, 6 NY3d 248, 255–256 [2006] ).  Defendant's valid waiver of her right to appeal forecloses her challenge to the severity of her sentence (see id. at 256).  Although defendant's challenges to her Alford plea are not foreclosed by her waiver of the right to appeal, she failed to preserve those challenges for our review (see People v. Elliott, 107 AD3d 1466, 1466 [4th Dept 2013], lv denied 22 NY3d 996 [2013] ).  We decline to exercise our power to review those challenges as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice (see CPL 470.15[3][c] ).

Mark W. Bennett

Clerk of the Court