People v. Ortiz

People v Ortiz (2026 NY Slip Op 00853)

People v Ortiz

2026 NY Slip Op 00853

Decided on February 17, 2026

Appellate Division, First Department

Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.

This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

Decided and Entered: February 17, 2026
Before: Moulton, J.P., Friedman, González, O'Neill Levy, Chan, JJ.
Ind. No. 73484/22|Appeal No. 5840|Case No. 2023-03631|

Jenay Nurse Guilford, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Leanna J. Duncan of counsel), for appellant.

Darcel D. Clark, District Attorney, Bronx (Nicole Neckles of counsel), for respondent.

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Albert Lorenzo, J.), rendered June 26, 2023, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and sentencing him to a term of five years' probation, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant validly waived his right to appeal (see People v Thomas, 34 NY3d 545 [2019], cert denied 589 US &mdash, 140 S Ct 2634 [2020]), which forecloses review of his excessive sentence claim. In any event, we perceive no basis to reduce defendant's sentence.

Defendant's appeal waiver does not foreclose review of his constitutional challenge to New York's firearm licensing statute based on New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. v Bruen (597 US 1 [2022]). Defendant has standing to raise his facial constitutional challenge to New York's firearm licensing scheme, notwithstanding that he never applied to obtain a firearm license (see People v Johnson, — NY3d &mdash, 2025 NY Slip Op 06528, *2 [2025]). However, defendant failed to preserve this claim (see People v Cabrera, 41 NY3d 35, 42-51 [2023]), and we decline to review it in the interest of justice. Alternatively, we reject it on the merits (see People v Guzman, 237 AD3d 570, 571 [1st Dept 2025], lv denied 44 NY3d 993 [2025]).

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

ENTERED: February 17, 2026