THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK RESPONDENT v. QUENTIN HILL ALSO KNOWN AS QUINTON HILL 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 him, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the second degree (Penal Law § 220.18[1] ).  Contrary to defendant's contention, we conclude that “[t]he plea colloquy and the written waiver of the right to appeal signed [and acknowledged in County Court] by defendant demonstrate that [he] knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived the right to appeal, including the right to appeal the severity of the sentence” (People v. Pierce, 151 AD3d 1964, 1965 [4th Dept 2017], lv denied 30 NY3d 952 [2017] [internal quotation marks omitted] ).  Defendant's valid waiver of the right to appeal forecloses his challenge to the severity of the sentence (see People v. Lopez, 6 NY3d 248, 255 [2006];  People v. Hidalgo, 91 N.Y.2d 733, 737 [1998];  cf.  People v. Maracle, 19 NY3d 925, 928 [2012] ).

Mark W. Bennett

Clerk of the Court