Can Plea Deal Be Overturned After Sentencing

[scrutari]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: New York

DEF accepted an awful plea deal the eve before jury selection. The prosecutor offered 3-6 years of prison for unauthorized access to computer system and related charges. DEF lawyer is ignorant of computers and likely did not do any research in case he needed to bargain because he was so convinced that he could get DEF off ... until more damning evidence was found and the expert witness refused to show up. DEF was essentially forced to accept the deal because DEF lawyer was utterly unprepared. Is it possible to discard the plea deal before sentencing because of defective representation? What if the sentencing has already taken place; is it possible to have the plea deal overturned because of defective representation? Would a public defender be available if yes? Currently he has a private defender. Thanks.

[Mr. Knowitall]

How is it the lawyer's fault that the prosecution found "damning evidence" against the defendant? If the lawyer did not know about the evidence, odds are it was because the defendant was lying to him - the defendant, after all, knows what he did and did not do and what evidence there is likely to be of his actions. Most of the time, that's why a criminal defense lawyer is surprised in court.

You haven't told us why the expert was not able to appear, but that can often be addressed through a request for an adjournment. Or is this because with the new "damning evidence" the expert felt that his testimony would be useless - he worked with one set of facts and was being handed another on the eve of trial?

The defendant should discuss the details of the case with an appellate lawyer. You haven't shared enough information for us to make any meaningful analysis.

[scrutari]

I should be more clear. The problem isn't that he pled guilty. The problem is the 3-6 years is far more than justified for the crime. And the terms were agreed upon because the DEF and the DEF attorney did not know what prior cases brought in because attorney didn't do any research despite knowing days ahead of time that a plea deal is a good possibility.