Appeal from a judgment of the Genesee County Court (Robert C. Noonan, J.), rendered April 25, 2013. The judgment convicted defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of reckless assault of a child.
It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.
Memorandum: In appeal No. 1, defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him, upon his plea of guilty, of reckless assault of a child (Penal Law § 120.02) in connection with a medical diagnosis determining that the child victim had sustained serious physical injury as a result of shaken baby syndrome. Contrary to defendant’s contention, the record establishes that his waiver of the right to appeal was made knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily (see People v Lopez, 6 NY3d 248, 256
Based upon defendant’s explanation during his plea colloquy of his actions, i.e., that he had quickly grabbed the victim from the basinet on one occasion and had played with him by “tossing” him in a spinning motion, the court conducted a presentence hearing to obtain information regarding shaken baby syndrome. The People presented the testimony of the victim’s treating physician, who is board certified in emergency pediatric care and pediatric child abuse. She explained that the injuries required more force to cause an acceleration and deceleration of the victim’s head than would have occurred by the actions defendant described. She denied on cross-examination that certain medical conditions that the victim had were a contributing factor to his injuries. She acknowledged, however, that one of those medical conditions, i.e., macrocephali, was a source of controversy in the medical community with respect to shaken baby syndrome but she explained that there was no medical evidence to support the theory that macrocephali contributed to a symptom of shaken baby syndrome, i.e., subdural hematomas. In any event, the treating physician explained that the victim lacked spinal fluid between the skull and the brain, which is the condition that some physicians believe causes tension on the veins between the skull and the brain, thereby causing the veins to rupture, resulting in subdural hematomas. She also denied that the victim’s retinal hemorrhages were related to premature retinopathy because that condition had healed before the victim sustained the retinal hemorrhages.
Following the hearing, the court denied defense counsel’s request for an adjournment of sufficient duration to permit
We reject defendant’s further contention that he was denied effective assistance of counsel based upon defense counsel’s failure to consult with, or provide the testimony of, an expert to rebut the testimony of the victim’s treating physician with respect to shaken baby syndrome. Defendant has failed to meet his burden of establishing that “such expert testimony was available, that it would have assisted the [court] in its determination or that he was prejudiced by its absence” (People v Woolson, 122 AD3d 1353, 1354 [2014] [internal quotation marks omitted]; see People v West, 118 AD3d 1450, 1451 [2014], lv denied 24 NY3d 1048 [2014]). Moreover, the record establishes that defense counsel consulted with medical professionals and effectively cross-examined the treating physician. Viewing “the evidence, the law, and circumstances of [this] case, ... in totality and as of the time of the representation” (People v Baldi, 54 NY2d 137, 147 [1981]), we conclude that defendant received meaningful representation (cf. People v Oliveras, 21 NY3d 339, 348 [2013]).
In appeal No. 2, defendant contends that the court erred in ordering restitution in the amount of $7,378 to be paid to the Genesee County Department of Social Services (DSS) for the cost of providing foster care for the victim. Inasmuch as that item of restitution affects the legality of the sentence, the contention is not encompassed in the waiver of the right to appeal (see People v Boatman, 110 AD3d 1463, 1463-1464 [2013], lv denied 22 NY3d 1039 [2013]; see generally People v Seaberg, 74 NY2d 1, 9 [1989]). We agree with defendant that the court erred in determining that DSS was the victim’s “guardian” (see Executive Law § 621 [6]), and therefore qualified to obtain restitution for the cost of providing foster care as a “victim” pursuant to Penal Law § 60.27. We therefore modify the order accordingly.
It is well established that restitution may be required for expenses that “were not voluntarily incurred, but stem from legal obligations that are directly and causally related to the crime” (People v Cruz, 81 NY2d 996, 998 [1993]; see People v McCarthy, 83 AD3d 1533, 1535 [2011], lv denied 17 NY3d 819
