Opinion ID: 2141806
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: People v Lopez

Text: Following arrest and indictment for possession and sale of a controlled substance in or near school grounds, defendant Lopez pleaded guilty to a reduced charge. In exchange for this plea, the court promised to impose a sentence of imprisonment of 2½ to 5 years. At the time of the plea, defendant waived his right to appeal on the record, both verbally and in writing. Despite this waiver, on January 14, 2004, defendant, acting pro se, filed a timely notice of appeal, noting only that he would appeal the conviction and/or sentence. After appointment by the Appellate Division, appellate counsel argued that the Court should reduce defendant's sentence in the interest of justice despite his waiver of the right to appeal. The Appellate Division affirmed with respect to defendant's sentence, holding that [d]efendant's valid waiver of his right to appeal encompassed his excessive sentence claim and thus forecloses interest of justice review. In any event, were we to find that defendant did not validly waive his right to appeal, we would perceive no basis for reducing the sentence (16 AD3d 258, 258 [1st Dept 2005] [citation omitted]). On defendant's appeal of the excessive sentence issue, we now affirm the Appellate Division's conclusion.