Opinion
December 28, 1970
Appeal by defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County, rendered May 7, 1969, convicting him of robbery in the third degree, upon his plea of guilty, and imposing sentence. Judgment reversed, on the law; guilty plea vacated; and not guilty plea reinstated. Where a defendant, during the taking of his plea of guilty, and despite maintaining his guilt, claims to have no knowledge of the crime to which he is admitting, it is error for the court to accept the plea ( People v. Lang, 21 N.Y.2d 338; People v. Serrano, 15 N.Y.2d 304). Christ, P.J., Rabin, Kleinfeld and Benjamin, JJ., concur; Munder, J., dissents and votes to affirm the judgment on the authority of North Carolina v. Alford (___ U.S. ___).