PEOPLE v. BRUCE (2023)

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of St. Lawrence County (John F. Richey, J.), rendered January 6, 2020, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of attempted promoting prison contraband in the first degree.

Defendant was charged by indictment with two counts of promoting prison contraband in the first degree for possessing two separate sharpened pieces of metal while serving a prison sentence.  Pursuant to a plea agreement, defendant pleaded guilty to one count of the reduced charge of attempted promoting prison contraband in the first degree and waived his right to appeal.¹  Defendant was thereafter sentenced, as a second felony offender, to the agreed-upon term of 11/212 to 3 years in prison, to run consecutively to the sentence that he was then serving.  Defendant appeals.

We affirm.  Defendant's sole contention on appeal is that alleged defects in the People's presentation of certain evidence and testimony before the grand jury impaired the integrity of the grand jury proceeding.  Our review of defendant's claims, however, reveal that the flaws alleged are of a technical or evidentiary nature and do not rise to the level of a constitutional or jurisdictional defect implicating the integrity of the process.  Thus, they have been forfeited by his unchallenged guilty plea (see People v. Guerrero, 28 N.Y.3d 110, 115–116, 42 N.Y.S.3d 80, 65 N.E.3d 51 [2016];  People v. Wilburn, 158 A.D.3d 894, 894–895, 71 N.Y.S.3d 181 [3d Dept. 2018], lv denied 31 N.Y.3d 1123, 81 N.Y.S.3d 383, 106 N.E.3d 766 [2018];  People v. Rivera, 93 A.D.3d 409, 409–410, 938 N.Y.S.2d 888 [1st Dept. 2012], lv denied 19 N.Y.3d 866, 947 N.Y.S.2d 415, 970 N.E.2d 438 [2012];  People v. Robertson, 279 A.D.2d 711, 712–713, 718 N.Y.S.2d 463 [3d Dept. 2001], lv denied 96 N.Y.2d 805, 726 N.Y.S.2d 383, 750 N.E.2d 85 [2001]).

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.

FOOTNOTES

1.   Defendant does not challenge his waiver of appeal.

Egan Jr., J.P.

Lynch, Reynolds Fitzgerald, Ceresia and Fisher, JJ., concur.