Court rejects appeal of sentence in felony drug case

A former Poughkeepsie man’s appeal of his prison sentence based on a claim of ineffective counsel has been rejected by a state appeals court.

The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court, Third Judicial Department, handed down a decision Wednesday affirming the judgment against Danyl Burger, 45.

Burger was sentenced on Jan. 30, 2014, by Ulster County Judge Donald A. Williams to eight years in state prison and three years of post-release supervision for two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance.

Burger was arrested in July 2012 following a traffic stop on U,S, Route 9W in the town of Lloyd during which he was found with cocaine, much of which was packaged for sale, the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office said at the time.

Following his arrest, Burger was represented by an assistant public defender from the county Public Defender’s Office, the appellate court noted in its decision. That assistant public defender waived Burger’s right to a speedy trial in order to engage in plea negotiations. Then, in January 2013, Burger was indicted and the prosecution declared it was ready to proceed with trial, the decision stated.

Burger later obtained new counsel and rejected a plea deal, according to the decision.

In his appeal, Burger claimed deficiencies in the performance of his counsel related to the waiver of a speedy trial, the decision states. He also claimed his defense counsel was ineffective in failing to advise him of the advantages and disadvantages of accepting a proposed plea agreement instead of proceeding to trial, according to the decision.

“The record shows that defendant was made aware of the offer by former counsel, that an adjournment was granted so that defense counsel could, among other things, consider it, and that defendant then rejected it,” the decision states. It adds, though, there was no proof about what Burger knew prior to rejecting the plea offer so his second argument must be raised in a separate motion.