Carney v. Feldstein

I join in the majority’s denial of a writ of prohibition, but wish to address in more detail what I consider to be the most troubling aspect of the plea arrangement between the respondent Schenectady County Judge (hereinafter respondent) and respondent Francis Di Donato (hereinafter defendant). Essentially, defendant was permitted to enter a conditional guilty plea pursuant to which the issue of the denial of leave to serve a late notice of insanity defense would be preserved on appeal or, if not, respondent promised that defendant would be allowed to withdraw his plea and go to trial on the…