The People of the State of New York v. Dominique Parrott
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Attorneys and Parties
Brief Summary
Criminal law appeal involving the validity of an appeal waiver after a guilty plea and whether a conviction may stand for an offense to which the defendant did not actually plead guilty.
The trial court accepted defendant's guilty plea to burglary in the second degree and criminal trespass in the second degree, and imposed a sentence of 3 1/2 years in prison plus 5 years of postrelease supervision on the burglary count, with a concurrent one-year term on the trespass count.
The Appellate Division vacated the conviction and sentence for criminal trespass in the second degree, but otherwise affirmed the judgment, including the burglary conviction and the five-year term of postrelease supervision.
The court held that the appeal waiver was not valid because the record did not show defendant had a full appreciation of its consequences under People v Thomas. However, it found no basis to reduce postrelease supervision. It vacated the criminal trespass count because defendant did not plead guilty to that offense.
Background
Dominique Parrott was prosecuted under Indictment No. 659/17 in Supreme Court, New York County. He entered a guilty plea in connection with burglary in the second degree and was also convicted of criminal trespass in the second degree. The trial court sentenced him to 3 1/2 years' imprisonment followed by 5 years of postrelease supervision on the burglary count, and a concurrent one-year term on the criminal trespass count. He appealed.
Lower Court Decision
The Supreme Court, New York County (Juan M. Merchan, J.), rendered judgment on May 6, 2019, convicting defendant upon his guilty plea of burglary in the second degree and criminal trespass in the second degree, and imposed the stated prison and postrelease supervision terms.
Appellate Division Reversal
The Appellate Division unanimously modified the judgment on the law by vacating the conviction of criminal trespass in the second degree. The court concluded that defendant did not validly waive his right to appeal because the record did not establish a full understanding of the consequences of the waiver. Even so, the court declined to reduce the five-year postrelease supervision term. The court vacated the criminal trespass conviction because, as the People conceded, defendant did not actually plead guilty to that offense.
Legal Significance
The decision reinforces two plea-related principles in New York criminal practice: first, an appeal waiver is ineffective unless the record shows the defendant fully understood its consequences; second, a conviction and sentence cannot stand for an offense that was not the subject of the defendant's guilty plea. The court relied on People v Thomas for the appeal-waiver standard and on prior precedent holding that a conviction must be vacated when the defendant did not plead guilty to the offense.
A criminal judgment may be partially vacated on appeal when the plea record does not support one of the offenses of conviction, and an appeal waiver will not bar review unless the defendant clearly understood what rights were being surrendered.