People v. Batsford

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Cortland County (Dowd, J.), rendered February 10, 1989, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of attempted burglary in the third degree.

Defendant’s main argument on appeal is that he was denied meaningful representation because defense counsel failed to thoroughly investigate the factual basis of the charges against defendant prior to his plea. Based on defense counsel’s analysis of the prosecution’s case and defendant’s prior criminal record, defense counsel clearly made a legitimate and reasonable decision not to move forward…