THE SENTENCING COURT INDICATED IT COULD NOT DEVIATE FROM ITS SENTENCING AGREEMENT WITH THE PEOPLE BUT SENTENCING COURTS HAVE DISCRETION; SENTENCE VACATED AND MATTER REMITTED FOR RE-SENTENCING (FOURTH DEPT).
The Fourth Department, vacating defendant’s sentence and remitting the matter, determined the sentencing court erroneously indicated it had no discretion to deviate from the sentencing agreement with the People:
“[T]he sentencing decision is a matter committed to the exercise of the court’s discretion and . . . can be made only after careful consideration of all facts available at the time of sentencing” … . “The determination of an appropriate sentence requires the exercise of discretion after due consideration given to, among other things, the crime charged, the particular circumstances of the individual before the court and the purpose of a penal sanction, i.e., societal protection, rehabilitation and deterrence” … . Here, the court indicated that it had no choice but to sentence defendant pursuant to its agreement with the People … , and the sentencing transcript, read in its entirety, does not reflect that the court conducted the requisite discretionary analysis … . We therefore modify the judgment by vacating the sentence, and we remit the matter to County Court for resentencing. People v Knorr, 2020 NY Slip Op 04690, Fourth Dept 8-20-20