Judge Gary Knobel
Wedderburn moved to vacate his conviction for two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance arguing his rights to due process and effective assistance of counsel were violated. He was convicted on a guilty plea and defense counsel now contended his prior attorney failed to advise him, or misadvised him, of potential motions, discovery and hearings. The court rejected Wedderburn’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, finding his prior counsel’s representation did not fall below an objective standard of reasonableness. It found defendant pleaded guilty to a class A misdemeanor in full satisfaction of all charges against him, despite originally being charged with class B and D felonies. The court noted a review of the transcript confirmed that at the time of Wedderburn’s plea, he was asked if he was satisfied with the manner his attorney represented him, and responded, “very.” Thus, his self-serving, conclusory statements that he would not have pleaded guilty and insisted on going to trial were insufficient to establish prejudice. Hence, the court concluded the requirements for a valid guilty plea were met and Wedderburn’s motion was denied in its entirety.
