The People of the State of New York, Respondent v. Randolfo Catu, Appellant

Summary

The Court of Appeals held that mandatory postrelease supervision is a direct consequence of a guilty plea to a determinate sentence, so a trial court must advise the defendant of it before accepting the plea. Because postrelease supervision attaches automatically under the Jenna's Law determinate sentencing scheme (Penal Law § 70.45), a defendant cannot make a knowing, voluntary and intelligent plea without being told of it, and the failure to advise requires vacatur of the plea. The court rejected the lower courts' requirement that the defendant prove he would have declined to plead guilty had he known, adopting Coles' view that harmless error rules are ill-suited to guilty pleas. The Appellate Division order was reversed and the case remitted to Supreme Court.