PEOPLE v. UDEKE (2018)

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Laura A. Ward, J.), rendered March 15, 2015, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of aggravated family offense, and sentencing him to a term of one year, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant was not deprived of his right to conflict-free counsel as the result of the brief simultaneous representation of defendant and the victim, by different Legal Aid Society attorneys, in unrelated cases.  When the People informed the court that the victim in this case had been arrested on shoplifting charges and had been represented at her own arraignment, a few days earlier, by a Legal Aid attorney, the plea court stated that it intended to relieve Legal Aid from the victim's case and assign new counsel that very afternoon.  Before the court could do so, however, defendant accepted a pending plea offer, pleaded guilty, and was immediately sentenced.

On these facts, the record does not establish that any conflict operated to defendant's detriment or had a substantial relation to the conduct of his defense (see People v. Harris, 99 N.Y.2d 202, 210–211, 753 N.Y.S.2d 437, 783 N.E.2d 502 [2002];  People v. Miller, 19 A.D.3d 237, 798 N.Y.S.2d 10 [1st Dept. 2005], lv denied 5 N.Y.3d 808, 803 N.Y.S.2d 37, 836 N.E.2d 1160 [2005];  People v. Hunter, 283 A.D.2d 248, 724 N.Y.S.2d 604 [1st Dept. 2001], lv denied 96 N.Y.2d 919, 732 N.Y.S.2d 636, 758 N.E.2d 662 [2001] ).  The record fails to support defendant's assertion that as a result of the brief and limited simultaneous representation, defendant's own Legal Aid attorney failed to provide him with effective representation.