You are here: / / NEW YORK’S PERSISTENT FELONY OFFENDER SENTENCING SCHEME IS CONSTITUTIONAL,...
,

NEW YORK’S PERSISTENT FELONY OFFENDER SENTENCING SCHEME IS CONSTITUTIONAL, IT DOES NOT INVOLVE PROOF OF A FACT OTHER THAN A PRIOR FELONY CONVICTION.

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Wilson, reaffirmed its prior holdings finding New York’s persistent felony offender sentencing scheme constitutional:

The Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee criminal defendants in state courts “the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury.” To satisfy that right, the People must prove each element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Among those elements is any fact — other than one admitted by the defendant or involving the mere fact of a prior felony conviction … — that has the effect of increasing the prescribed range of penalties to which a defendant is exposed … . …

… [W]e have held that the [persistent felony offender] statute … exposes defendants to an enhanced sentencing range based only on the existence of two prior felony convictions … . As we have consistently explained, the existence of those prior convictions — each the result of either a guilty plea or a jury verdict — is the “sole determinant of whether a defendant is subject to recidivist sentencing as a persistent felony offender” … . Only after the existence of those prior convictions is established and the maximum permissible sentence raised does Supreme Court have “the discretion to choose the appropriate sentence within a sentencing range prescribed by statute” … .

“The court’s opinion is, of course, subject to appellate review, as is any exercise of discretion. The Appellate Division, in its own discretion, may conclude that a persistent felony offender sentence is too harsh or otherwise improvident” and reduce it in the interest of justice to a sentence within the statutory range fixed by the legislature for the crime of conviction, without regard to the persistent felony offender enhancement … . “In this way, the Appellate Division can and should mitigate inappropriately severe applications of the statute” … .

In other words, the statute mandates a two-part process: in step one, the court adjudicates the defendant a persistent felony offender if the necessary and sufficient fact of the two prior convictions is proved beyond a reasonable doubt, thereby exposing him to the sentencing range applicable to such offenders; in step two, it evaluates what sentence is warranted and sets forth an explanation of its opinion on that question for the record … . People v Prindle, 2017 NY Slip Op 05267, CtApp 6-29-17

 

You might also like
BASED ON THE UNAMBIGUOUS LANGUAGE OF THE POLICY, THE TERM “OCCURRENCE” REFERRED TO EACH TIME A MEMBER OF THE CLASS WAS INJURED, NOT TO A SINGLE INJURY TO THE CLASS AS A WHOLE; THEREFORE THE DEDUCTIBLE WAS TRIGGERED SEPARATELY FOR EACH INJURED CLASS MEMBER.
THE STATUTE REQUIRING THE PEOPLE TO FILE A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH THEIR DISCOVERY OBLIGATIONS IN ORDER TO BE READY FOR TRIAL WENT INTO EFFECT ON JANUARY 1, 2020; REVERSING THE APPELLATE DIVISION, THE COURT OF APPEALS HELD A VALID READY-FOR-TRIAL ANNOUNCEMENT MADE PRIOR TO JANUARY 1, 2020, WAS NOT AFFECTED BY THE NEW STATUTE (CT APP).
THE EXTENSION (NOW TO 2026) OF THE TIME FOR PARTICIPANTS IN THE 9-11 CLEANUP TO FILE CLAIMS FOR MEDICAL BENEFITS DOES NOT APPLY TO CLAIMS FOR DEATH BENEFITS BY A BENEFICIARY OF A DECEASED PARTICIPANT; HERE THE PARTICIPANT’S WIFE MADE A CLAIM FOR DEATH BENEFITS WHICH WAS PROPERLY DENIED BECAUSE THE STATUTORY DEADLINE IN WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LAW SECTION 28 HAD PASSED (CT APP).
THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH’S BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL CONDUCT PROPERLY REVOKED PETITIONER-RADIATION-ONCOLOGIST’S LICENSE TO PRACTICE MEDICINE; THE BOARD’S EXPERT OPINED THAT PETITIONER’S USE OF HIGHER “CURATIVE” RADIATION DOSES WHEN LOWER “PALLIATIVE” DOSES WERE APPROPRIATE FELL SHORT OF THE RELEVANT STANDARD OF CARE (CT APP).
EVEN THOUGH DEFENDANT RELIED SOLELY ON THE PROSECUTION’S EVIDENCE TO RAISE THE AGENCY DEFENSE TO A DRUG SALE, EVIDENCE OF A PRIOR DRUG-SALE CONVICTION WAS PROPERLY ADMITTED IN THE PEOPLE’S CASE TO PROVE INTENT.
Service by “Nailing” On the Day Before the Last Possible Day and “Mailing” on the Last Possible Day Was Timely
Language of Collective Bargaining Agreements Entitled Retirees to the Same Health Benefits As Were In Effect at the Time of Retirement
THE ELEVEN YEAR ELECTION LAW (EYEL), WHICH MANDATES EVEN-YEAR COUNTY ELECTIONS, DOES NOT VIOLATE THE MUNICIPAL HOME RULE PROVISIONS OF THE NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION; THE CHALLENGE BY COUNTIES WITH CHARTER PROVISIONS MANDATING ODD-YEAR ELECTIONS WAS REJECTED (CT APP).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

PROSECUTOR’S CHARACTERIZATION OF DNA EVIDENCE WAS NOT IMPROPER, DEFENSE... LAWSUIT INVOLVED WITNESSES AND DOCUMENTS LOCATED IN RUSSIA, DISMISSAL BASED...