People v. Edwards

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Renee A. White, J.), rendered June 3, 2014, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of burglary in the second degree, and sentencing him, as a second violent felony offender, to a term of seven years, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claims are unreviewable on direct appeal because they involve communications between defendant and counsel that are not reflected in the record (see People v Rivera, 71 NY2d 705 , 709 [1988]; People v Love, 57 NY2d 998 [1982]). Accordingly, since defendant has not made a CPL 440.10 motion, the merits of the ineffectiveness claims may not be addressed on appeal. In the alternative, to the extent the existing record permits review, we find that defendant received effective assistance under the state and federal standards in connection with his plea (see People v Benevento, 91 NY2d 708 , 713-714 [1998]; People v Ford, 86 NY2d 397 , 404 [1995]; Strickland v Washington, 466 US 668 [1984]).

Defendant’s challenges to the validity of his plea do not fall within the narrow exception to the preservation requirement (see People v Conceicao, 26 NY3d 375 , 382 [2015]), and we

Defendant’s argument concerning his adjudication as a second violent felony offender is likewise unpreserved, and we decline to review it in the interest of justice.

Concur—Renwick, J.R, Richter, Manzanet-Daniels, Kahn and Kern, JJ.