People v Rountree
2026 NY Slip Op 02135 [248 AD3d 946]
April 8, 2026
Appellate Division, Second Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law ยง 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, June 10, 2026
The People of the State of New York, Respondent,
v
Brandon Rountree, Appellant.
April 8, 2026
HEADNOTES
Crimes — Appeal — Validity of Waiver of Right to Appeal
APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL
Patricia Pazner, New York, NY (Russ Altman-Merino of counsel), for appellant.
Melinda Katz, District Attorney, Kew Gardens, NY (Johnnette Traill and Nancy Fitzpatrick Talcott of counsel; Dallas S. Droz on the memorandum), for respondent.
Appeal by the defendant, as limited by his motion, from a sentence of the Supreme Court, Queens County (David J. Kirschner, J.), imposed May 8, 2023, upon his plea of guilty, on the ground that the sentence was excessive.
Ordered that the sentence is affirmed.
Contrary to the People's contention, the defendant did not validly waive his right to appeal the excessiveness of the sentence imposed (see People v Arriaza-Ortega, 216 AD3d 1175, 1175 [2023]; People v Moye, 164 AD3d 698, 698 [2018]). During the plea allocution, the Supreme Court expressly excluded a challenge to the excessiveness of the sentence imposed from the challenges foreclosed by the waiver of the right to appeal by telling the defendant that he was giving up his right to appeal, with the exception of challenging the excessiveness of his sentence (see People v Moye, 164 AD3d at 698).
Nevertheless, the sentence imposed was not excessive (see People v Suitte, 90 AD2d 80 [1982]). Iannacci, J.P., Wooten, Wan, Golia and Ottley, JJ., concur.