People v. Hidalgo

OPINION OF THE COURT

Wesley, J.

The issue on this appeal is whether a defendant who enters into a plea bargain without a specific sentence promise and waives the right to appeal, loses the right to challenge the sentence in an intermediate appellate court as harsh and excessive. We hold that defendant’s unrestricted waiver of the right to appeal in this case encompassed her right to review of the sentence as harsh and excessive.

On February 24, 1996, defendant participated in a street fight, during which one of her cohorts slashed a woman in the face. On June 27, 1996, the Erie County Grand Jury…