A YOUTHFUL OFFENDER MUST CONSENT TO COMMUNITY SERVICE IMPOSED AS PART OF A SENTENCE (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, modifying the sentence imposed by County Court, noted that the defendant youthful offender did not consent to community service as part of his sentence, as required by the Penal Law:
… [A] court may require a defendant, as a condition of a sentence of probation, to “[p]erform services for a public or not-for-profit corporation, association, institution[,] or agency” (Penal Law § 65.10[2][h]; cf. CPL 170.55). However, a community service condition “may only be imposed upon conviction of” certain types of crimes, including a “class E felony, or a youthful offender finding replacing any such conviction, where the defendant has consented to the amount and conditions of such service” … . …
… [T]he defendant correctly asserts that “the record is . . . devoid of any indication that [he] actually consented to the terms and conditions of community service imposed at the time of sentencing” … . The comments of defense counsel at sentencing did not provide the requisite consent, as defense counsel’s suggestion of community service was made in the context of arguing that a term of incarceration was unwarranted. In any event, even if defense counsel’s statements could be construed as providing the defendant’s “consent to the possibility of community service . . . , there is no proof whatsoever on the record that [the] defendant consented to the amount and conditions of the community service actually imposed by [the] County Court, which is what is specifically required by [Penal Law § 65.10(2)(h)]” … . People v Joseph D., 2024 NY Slip Op 02064, Second Dept 4-17-24
Practice Point: Penal Law 65.10 requires the consent of a youthful offender to community service as part of a sentence.