People v. Felix
Attorneys and Parties
Brief Summary
Criminal law—validity of appeal waiver; speedy trial excludable time; sentencing surcharges and fees.
Denied defendant’s speedy-trial motion, accepted a guilty plea to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and imposed five years’ probation with mandatory surcharge and fees.
Surcharge and fees imposed at sentencing were vacated; the conviction and sentence of probation were otherwise affirmed.
The Appellate Division exercised its interest-of-justice discretion to vacate the financial impositions, noting the People did not oppose; all other challenges were foreclosed by a valid appeal waiver and, independently, the disputed delay was excludable because it was not due to prosecutorial inaction.
Background
Defendant pleaded guilty in Supreme Court, Bronx County, to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and received five years of probation plus financial surcharges and fees. On appeal, he challenged the denial of his speedy-trial motion and the severity of the sentence. The record showed he executed a written appeal waiver and engaged in an on-the-record colloquy tracking People v Thomas’s model, separating the right to appeal from trial rights forfeited by the plea, and thereby rendering the waiver valid. Even assuming review, the 84-day delay resulted from the prosecution timely emailing the grand jury minutes to an address provided by the court during a virtual chat that turned out to be for the wrong court attorney; the error was discovered at the next calendar call.
Lower Court Decision
Supreme Court, Bronx County (Rosenblueth, J., speedy-trial motion; Stone, J., plea and sentencing) denied the speedy-trial motion, accepted the guilty plea, and sentenced defendant to five years of probation with mandatory surcharge and fees.
Appellate Division Reversal
Modified only to vacate the surcharge and fees in the interest of justice; otherwise affirmed. The court held the appeal waiver valid under People v Thomas and People v Sanders, with any ambiguity cured by a written waiver per People v Vallient, thereby foreclosing review of speedy-trial and excessive-sentence claims. In any event, the 84-day delay was excludable under People v Harris because the People timely acted and the delay was caused by reliance on a court-provided but incorrect email address, demonstrating an intentional course of action to file the minutes. The court declined to reduce the sentence but vacated the surcharge and fees, noting the People did not oppose.
Legal Significance
Reaffirms that a properly conducted appeal-waiver colloquy, coupled with a written waiver, forecloses appellate review of speedy-trial and excessive-sentence claims. Clarifies that delays attributable to the prosecution’s timely, good-faith efforts—especially when caused by erroneous information supplied by the court—are excludable under People v Harris. Confirms the Appellate Division’s authority to vacate surcharges and fees in the interest of justice even while affirming the conviction and sentence.
A valid appeal waiver bars review of speedy-trial and excessive-sentence claims; an inadvertent filing to a court-provided wrong email does not count against the People where they acted diligently; appellate courts may vacate financial surcharges and fees in the interest of justice while otherwise affirming.