Genesee County Court Vacates Coerced Guilty Plea in Pavilion Town Court

Published on 11/4/2024

On August 18, 2023, Mr. Singh was driving on New York State Route 63 (Ellicott Street) in the town of Pavilion, New York. He was stopped by Trooper J Burke of the New York State Police. The state trooper issued Mr. Singh a traffic ticket that charged him with speeding 53-mph in a 35-mph zone. Defendant retained the Benjamin Goldman Law Office, and the law firm filed a Not Guilty plea on his behalf. The Town Prosecutor was Robert Zickl who presented counsel for the defendant with a plea offer that would reduce the four-point speeding ticket to a two-point ticket. This plea offer was rejected by the Defendant.

When a justice court receives a not guilty plea it is required by law (VTL § 1806) to schedule a pretrial conference. In this instance the court failed to do as much. The court never did anything except wait for the defendant to sign the plea offer from the prosecutor. When the court decided enough time had passed it ordered the suspension of Mr. Singh’s driving privileges. When the attorney for Mr. Singh was made aware of the suspension order, the attorney contacted the court. The court told the attorney that they would lift the suspension upon receipt of a signed plea offer. Attorney for Defendant advised Defendant that it would be best under these circumstances to sign the plea offer to avoid suspension. Defendant did as much, and the court lifted the pending suspension.

After the court accepted the guilty plea and imposed fine, the attorney for Mr. Singh filed an appeal in the Genesee County Court. This court serves as the appellate court for justice court proceedings in Genesee County. The attorney for the defendant argued on appeal that the conviction should be vacated on several grounds, most importantly because it was obtained by coercion. The argument was that by the court’s statements, which said or implied, that the suspension would be lifted only upon receipt of a guilty plea, amounted to legal coercion. In a Decision dated October 17, 2024, County Court Judge Donald O’Geen ordered that the conviction be vacated and remanded the case back the Pavilion Town Court for further proceedings.

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