People v Best
2012 NY Slip Op 06758 [99 AD3d 493]
October 9, 2012
Appellate Division, First Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, November 28, 2012


The People of the State of New York, Respondent,
v
Sean Best, Appellant.

[*1] Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Mark W. Zeno of counsel), for appellant.

Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Malancha Chanda of counsel), for respondent.

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Renee A. White, J.), rendered January 26, 2010, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of attempted assault in the first degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to a term of eight years, unanimously affirmed.

The court properly exercised its discretion in denying defendant's motion to withdraw his plea (see People v Frederick, 45 NY2d 520 [1978]). "[T]he nature and extent of the fact-finding procedures on such motions rest largely in the discretion of the court" (People v Fiumefreddo, 82 NY2d 536, 544 [1993]). The record establishes the voluntariness of the plea. The court, which accorded defendant a suitable opportunity to be heard, had sufficient information upon which to reject defendant's claim that medication affected his ability to understand the proceedings (see People v Alexander, 97 NY2d 482 [2002]).

We perceive no basis for reducing the sentence. Concur—Saxe, J.P., Sweeny, Richter, Abdus-Salaam and Román, JJ.