CONVICTION IN VIOLATION OF CATU CAN NOT BE USED AS PREDICATE FOR SENTENCING
The First Department determined the failure to mention the imposition of a period of postrelease supervision (PRS) in connection with a 2000 conviction precluded using that conviction as a predicate felony for sentencing purposes. The court noted that the 2005 Catu decision, which held defendants must be informed of PRS, applied retroactively:
CPL 400.15(7)(b) provides: “A previous conviction . . . which was obtained in violation of the rights of the defendant under the applicable provisions of the constitution of the United States must not be counted in determining whether the defendant has been subjected to a predicate violent felony conviction.” The People’s argument that a Catu error does not violate the United States Constitution is improperly raised for the first time in their reply brief, and is without merit in any event.
“[A] conviction obtained in violation of Catu implicates rights under the federal Constitution as well as the state constitution” … . Furthermore, although the Catu error in this case occurred in 2000, prior to the 2005 Catu decision, Catu applies retroactively … . People v Fagan, 2015 NY Slip Op 08782, 1st Dept 12-1-15
CRIMINAL LAW (SENTENCING, CATU ERROR PRECLUDES USE OF CONVICTION AS PREDICATE)/SENTENCING (CATU ERROR PRECLUDES USE OF CONVICTION AS PREDICATE)