People v. Seoud

In People v. Seoud (271 A.D.2d 63 [4th Dept 2000]) the defendant, at his plea, acknowledged breaking into a house intending to steal money. He also agreed at the time of his plea that he was satisfied with the manner in which his attorney had represented him and that his plea agreement was not the product of force or threats. The Court, at the time of the plea, stated that the defendant's sentencing commitment was conditioned upon him "telling the truth to the Court." Following the plea and before the sentence, the defendant submitted an affidavit wherein he sought to withdraw his plea, indicating that his attorney had basically forced him to enter the plea of guilty and in the affidavit he professed his innocence. The sentencing court gave him an enhanced sentence but the Appellate Division, as it did in each of the previously noted cases, held that such enhanced sentence, based on a defendant's statements to Probation was not approved by the Courts or the Legislature. The Court also held that the imposition of an enhanced sentence, due to the untruthful statements made to Probation or the Court, would permit a court to depart from a negotiated sentence based upon its subjective interpretation of a defendant's conduct rather than verifiable, factual information.