Crimes - Possession of Weapon - Constitutional Challenge to Firearm Licensing Scheme

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Albert Lorenzo, J., at plea; Ralph A. Fabrizio, J., at sentencing), rendered on June 28, 2024, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, and sentencing him to a term of two years of probation, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant validly waived his right to appeal, since "the totality of the circumstances reveals that [he] understood the nature of the appellate rights being waived" (People v Thomas, 34 NY3d 545, 559 [2019], cert denied 589 US 1302 [2020]). Nevertheless, his facial constitutional challenge to New York's firearms licensing scheme premised on New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v Bruen (597 US 1 [2022]) survives the waiver (see People v Johnson, — NY3d —, —, 2025 NY Slip Op 06528, *2 [2025]). However, defendant failed to preserve this claim (see People v Cabrera, 41 NY3d 35, 45-51 [2023]), and we decline to review it in the interest of justice. As an alternative holding, while defendant has standing to raise his claim, notwithstanding that he never applied for a firearm license (see Johnson, — NY3d at —, 2025 NY Slip Op 06528, *2), we reject defendant's challenge to the "good moral character" provision (Penal Law § 400.00 [1] [b]) on the merits (see People v Guzman, 237 AD3d 570, 571 [1st Dept 2025], lv denied 44 NY3d 993 [2025]).

Defendant's claim that his counsel was ineffective for failing to raise a Bruen claim is unreviewable on direct appeal "because it involves matters not reflected in the record and, thus, must be raised in a CPL 440.10 motion" (People v Holder, 224 AD3d 513, 514 [1st Dept 2024], lv denied 41 NY3d 1018 [2024]). In any event, counsel's failure to raise the Bruen claim was not ineffective, since that claim had "little or no chance of success" (People v Caban, 5 NY3d 143, 152 [2005] [internal quotation marks omitted]). Concur—Manzanet-Daniels, J.P., Kapnick, Pitt-Burke, Higgitt, Rosado, JJ.