The Lake George man who is serving a 5- to 15-year prison sentence for the 2016 boat crash on Lake George that killed 8-year-old Charlotte McCue has asked a judge to throw out his conviction, arguing he had “ineffective” counsel during and after his trial.

Alexander M. West filed a motion seeking to have his convictions reversed and a new trial held, claiming that his defense team did not adequately represent him during the trial that led to his conviction for second-degree manslaughter and lesser counts. He filed it himself from Collins Correctional Facility in western New York, with no new legal counsel listed.

West is seeking a new trial for the July 16, 2016, drug- and alcohol-related boat collision that killed Charlotte and seriously injured her mother. West was found to have acted recklessly when he slammed his family’s boat into one containing the victims, after he and friends had partied all day on the lake.

The motion, known in the court system as a “440 motion” because it stems from arguments made under Article 440 of state Criminal Procedure Law, is not uncommon after a conviction at trial. They are rarely successful at the trial court level.

But they give a defendant another issue on which to base an additional appeal to a higher court.

The typewritten copy West sent the court is basically unreadable except for the bold headings of each of three points. The office of Warren County Judge John Hall planned to contact him to have a legible copy forwarded.

From the portions that can be read, though, West claimed that defense counsel Cheryl Coleman and Kathryn Conklin were generally ineffective and also erred in calling a defense witness to testify about the boat crash cause who was not deemed an “expert” and whose testimony was limited by Hall.

It is exceedingly rare for a claim of “ineffective” counsel to be successful.

West, 27, also wrote that Coleman’s decision to have an Albany County prosecutor assist her with his appeal should not have been done, and that he had asked her not to do so. The prosecutor was doing legal work on the side for Coleman’s office, and helped with a number of other appeals on behalf of defendants in several counties.

The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court rejected an appeal last fall, and the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, declined to hear an additional appeal.

Coleman said she had no comment on the new round of litigation.

“I’ll always wish all the best for Alex,” she said.

Warren County District Attorney Jason Carusone said his office will oppose the motion, but needed to see a legible copy before commenting further.

“We’re not aware of any legal basis for it,” he added. “I need to know what it says before I can say what we’re going to do.”

Hall directed the District Attorney’s Office to respond to West’s motion by Dec. 20, and gave West until Jan. 24 for any additional paperwork West is eligible for parole in April 2022 should his post-trial motions not be successful.