FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT, DISTRICT ATTORNEY
DATE: DECEMBER 21, 2017
The Appellate Division, Third Department has unanimously affirmed the February, 2015 conviction of Jared Dutcher upon his plea of guilty of the crime of criminal contempt in the first degree, a class E felony.
Defendant’s conviction stems from an incident which occurred in March, 2014 when he went to his estranged girlfriend’s house and physically harassed and choked her during a domestic dispute over a daycare bill. In satisfaction of various pending charges, defendant pled guilty to criminal contempt in the first degree and waived his right to appeal in exchange for an agreed upon prison term of one and one-third to four years.
The defendant was subsequently sentenced by County Court Judge Donald A. Williams on February 17, 2015 to the agreed upon sentence.
On appeal, defendant argued that his waiver of appeal was invalid and that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. He also argued that the sentence he bargained for was unduly harsh and severe. The Appellate Division, Third Department, however, rejected each of defendant’s assertions and unanimously affirmed his conviction.
This is yet another example of a defendant who pled guilty and waived his right to appeal but, never the less, proceeded to file an appeal at a cost to the public.
On appeal, the defendant is represented by Marshall Nadan, Esq. of Kingston, New York. Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.