A SORA COURT JUDGE HAS THE INHERENT POWER TO, SUA SPONTE, REOPEN A SORA HEARING TO CORRECT AN ERROR (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Dowling, joining the First and Fourth Departments, determined a judge has the authority to, sua sponte, reopen a SORA hearing to correct a mistake:

​Given the Supreme Court’s error, and considering the inherent power of a court to reconsider its own intermediate determinations, together with the overriding purposes and objectives of SORA, we find no wrong in the Supreme Court’s sua sponte correction of its initial failure to assess points under risk factors 3 and 5. There is no benefit to a defendant, the People, or the public in prohibiting a SORA court tasked with determining an offender’s presumptive risk level from, sua sponte, correcting its own erroneous determination … . People v Allen, 2026 NY Slip Op 04880, Second Dept 8-5-26