The Appellate Division, Third Department has today unanimously affirmed judgments of conviction in the following case:
People v Julian Caggiano
In September, 2014, the defendant, 17 years old, was convicted upon his plea of guilty of the crime of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree as a result of a series of sales of heroin he made to undercover officers working with the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team (URGENT).
In exchange for his plea to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, defendant was sentenced, in accordance with the plea agreement, to a State prison term of five years to be followed by five years of post-release supervision. As part of the negotiated plea agreement, defendant also waived his right to appeal. Though he requested youthful offender treatment, County Court denied his application following numerous discussions on that issue.
On appeal, defendant challenged County Court’s discretionary decision to deny him youthful offender status, and argued that the agreed upon term of imprisonment was unduly harsh and excessive. The Appellate Division, Third Department, however, rejected both claims finding that his valid and unchallenged waiver of appeal precluded review of both of those claims.
On appeal, the defendant is represented by Lee C. Kindlon, Esq. of Albany, New York. Assistant District Attorneys Joan Gudesblatt Lamb, Esq. and Clifford Owens, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.