THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK RESPONDENT v. DAVID HILL 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 plea of guilty of burglary in the first degree (Penal Law § 140.30 [4]) and assault in the first degree (§ 120.10 [1]). We affirm.

Contrary to defendant's contention, the record reflects that County Court exercised its own discretion pursuant to CPL 720.20 (1) when declining to afford him youthful offender status. The court's statement that it would deny defendant youthful offender status was made during its recitation of the terms of the plea agreement at the outset of the plea colloquy and merely reflected the People's bargained-for “right to withdraw consent to the plea agreement if youthful offender treatment [was] granted” (People v Rudolph, 21 NY3d 497, 502 [2013]). At sentencing, the court explicitly acknowledged that both the statute and judicial precedent required it to consider whether defendant should be granted youthful offender status notwithstanding the plea agreement (see People v Huntington, 239 AD3d 1476, 1477 [4th Dept 2025], lv denied 44 NY3d 993 [2025]; cf. People v Nathan, 222 AD3d 1416, 1416-1417 [4th Dept 2023]; see generally Rudolph, 21 NY3d at 501). The court then proceeded to consider whether defendant was entitled to youthful offender status and determined that he was not.

Entered: October 2, 2026

Ann Dillon Flynn

Clerk of the Court