Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) Archives

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE OF SEXUAL CONTACT; RISK LEVEL REDUCED FROM LEVEL TWO TO ONE (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reducing defendant’s risk level from two to one, determined the evidence of sexual contact was not sufficient:

… [T]he record is devoid of any evidence, much less the requisite clear and convincing evidence … , that defendant touched the victim’s “sexual or other intimate parts.” Rather, the record contains only a statement from the victim that defendant “touched her inappropriately.” An “inappropriate” touch, however, encompasses a far broader array of conduct than that classified as “sexual conduct” by section 130.00 (3). …

… [A]lthough defendant was indicted for aggravated sexual battery under Tennessee law—an offense that includes “sexual contact” as an element (see Tenn Code Ann §§ 39-13-501 [6]; 39-13-504 [a])—he was ultimately convicted only of attempted aggravated sexual battery, and it is well established that ” ‘the fact that an offender was arrested or indicted for an offense is not, by itself, evidence that the offense occurred’ ” … . People v Bryant, 2020 NY Slip Op 05646, Fourth Dept 10-9-20

October 9, 2020/0 Comments/by Bruce Freeman

A SINGLE PROMOTING PRISON CONTRABAND CONVICTION FOUR YEARS BEFORE DID NOT SUPPORT A TEN POINT ASSESSMENT FOR UNSATISFACTORY CONDUCT; RISK LEVEL REDUCED FROM TWO TO ONE (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined the 10 point assessment for unsatisfactory conduct was not supported and reduced defendant’s risk level from two to one:

… [T]he record does not contain clear and convincing evidence to support the assessment of 10 points under risk factor 13, for “unsatisfactory” conduct while confined, based upon his conviction of the class A misdemeanor of promoting prison contraband in the second degree (Penal Law § 205.20). This conviction constituted the sole act of misconduct while confined cited by the People, and it occurred approximately four years before the SORA hearing, prior to the defendant’s transfer to State prison. Since the defendant’s misconduct was neither recent nor repeated, the assessment of points for that misdemeanor was not supported by the record … . People v Hernandez, 2020 NY Slip Op 05540, Second Dept 10-7-20

October 7, 2020/0 Comments/by Bruce Freeman

Criminal Law, Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA)

AN AUTOMATIC OVERRIDE ALLOWING A LEVEL THREE RISK ASSESSMENT WAS PROPERLY APPLIED TO A PSYCHOLOGICAL ABNORMALITY NOT SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED IN THE SORA RISK LEVEL GUIDELINES (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Maltese, determined the automatic override justifying a level three risk level was properly based upon a psychological abnormality not specifically mentioned in the risk assessment guidelines, but included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders:

In the Guidelines, the Board explained that it “chose to require a clinical assessment of an abnormality so that loose language in a pre-sentence report would not become the basis for an override. Examples of a clinical assessment that would support an override are pedophilia and sexual sadism” (Guidelines at 19 …). The Guidelines do not contain any language limiting the application of the fourth override to these two examples, and there is no requirement that a psychological abnormality must be inherently sex-related in order for the fourth override to apply … . * * *

The People submitted, among other things, a psychologist’s report in which the psychologist concluded, based on a clinical assessment, that the defendant suffered from schizoaffective disorder, that he experienced “periods of agitation and disorganized behavior,” and “presents as hypersexual with low impulse control when decompensated.” The psychologist further concluded that the nature of the defendant’s illness placed him at an elevated risk of violence, which would likely take the form of inappropriate sexual conduct. This evidence established that there has been a clinical assessment that the defendant has a psychological, physical, or organic abnormality that decreases his ability to control impulsive sexual behavior. People v Odiari, 2020 NY Slip Op 04882, Second Dept 9-2-20

September 2, 2020/by Bruce Freeman

Criminal Law, Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA)

DEFENDANT’S PHYSICAL CONDITION AFTER A STROKE WARRANTED A DOWNWARD MODIFICATION OF HIS SORA RISK LEVEL FROM THREE TO TWO (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined defendant’s application for a downward modification of his SORA risk level should have been granted:

… [T]he defendant established, by a preponderance of the evidence … , facts warranting a downward modification of his existing risk level classification to risk level two … . The medical evidence adduced at the hearing demonstrated that the defendant, who uses a wheelchair, suffered from a stroke in 2009, resulting in permanent paralysis on the right side of his body. A treating physician testified, inter alia, that there is no possibility of improvement of the paralysis condition. He also testified that although the defendant is able to transfer himself from a bed to a wheelchair, he requires assistance in propelling the wheelchair and in transferring himself to a shower stall. In addition, he is unable to stand for any length of time. Furthermore, the record indicates that the defendant had no disciplinary infractions in prison, spanning a lengthy period of time preceding the hearing. People v Sanchez, 2020 NY Slip Op 04796, Second Dept 8-26-20

August 26, 2020/by Bruce Freeman

Criminal Law, Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA)

PEOPLE’S REQUEST FOR AN UPWARD DEPARTURE IN THIS SORA RISK ASSESSMENT PROCEEDING SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the People’s request for an upward department in this SORA risk assessment proceeding should not have been granted:

The Supreme Court should not have granted the People’s request for an upward departure. “A departure from the presumptive risk level is generally the exception, not the rule. Where the People seek an upward departure, they must identify an aggravating factor that tends to establish a higher likelihood of reoffense or danger to the community not adequately taken into account by the Guidelines, and prove the facts in support of the aggravating factor by clear and convincing evidence” … . If the People do not satisfy these two requirements, “the court does not have the discretion to depart from the presumptive risk level” … .

Here, the People failed to establish that the defendant’s conduct was so brutal, heinous, extreme, or depraved as to amount to an aggravating factor that tends to establish a higher likelihood of reoffense or danger to the community not adequately taken into account by the Guidelines … . People v Murray, 2020 NY Slip Op 03554, Second Dept 6-24-20

June 24, 2020/by Bruce Freeman

Criminal Law, Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA)

SUPREME COURT’S DENIAL OF DEFENDANT’S PETITION TO MODIFY HIS SORA RISK LEVEL CLASSIFICATION WITHOUT HOLDING A HEARING VIOLATED THE CORRECTION LAW (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the failure to hold a hearing on defendant’s petition to modify his risk level classification violated Correction Law 168-o(4):

… [T]he defendant moved pursuant to Correction Law § 168-o(2) for a downward modification of his risk level classification under the Sex Offender Registration Act … . The Supreme Court denied the defendant’s petition without holding a hearing. We reverse.

Since the Supreme Court failed to conduct a hearing on the defendant’s petition, as set forth in Correction Law § 168-o(4), we reverse the order and remit the matter to the Supreme Court, Queens County, for a hearing and, thereafter, a new determination of the defendant’s petition … . People v Banuchi, 2020 NY Slip Op 03553, Second Dept 6-24-20

June 24, 2020/by Bruce Freeman

Criminal Law, Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA)

PETITIONER SOUGHT A REDUCTION OF HIS 1996 LEVEL THREE SEX OFFENDER CLASSIFICATION BUT COUNTY COURT DENIED THE PETITION WITHOUT REQUESTING AN UPDATED RECOMMENDATION FROM THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS OF SEX OFFENDERS IN VIOLATION OF THE CORRECTION LAW; ORDER REVERSED AND MATTER REMITTED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing County Court, determined County Court’s failure to request an updated recommendation from the Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders violated the Correction Law. Petitioner was classified a level three sex offender in 1996 and filed a petition to reduce his classification to level one:

The Correction Law requires that, upon receipt of such petition to modify a sex offender’s level of notification, “the court shall forward a copy of the petition to the [B]oard and request an updated recommendation pertaining to the sex offender” (Correction Law § 168-o [4]). Upon such a request, the Board must provide an updated recommendation … . Generally, only “[a]fter reviewing the recommendation received from the [B]oard and any relevant materials and evidence” may the court grant or deny the petition for modification … .

Notwithstanding these statutory mandates, the record reflects that County Court failed to comply with them. The parties acknowledged at oral argument that an updated recommendation from the Board was not requested. Furthermore, the court did not review an updated recommendation before denying defendant’s petition. Given that these procedural requirements of Correction Law § 168-o (4) were not met, the order must be reversed … . People v Kaminski, 2020 NY Slip Op 03431, Third Dept 6-18-20

June 18, 2020/by Bruce Freeman

Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Nuisance, Public Nuisance, Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA)

COMPLAINT AGAINST THE DIOCESE OF BUFFALO ALLEGING SEXUAL ABUSE BY A PRIEST DID NOT STATE A CAUSE OF ACTION FOR PUBLIC NUISANCE (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department determined the complaint seeking damages and injunctive relief against the Diocese of Buffalo NY stemming from alleged sexual abuse by a priest did not state a cause of action for public nuisance based on common law and Penal Law 240.45 (criminal nuisance). The court noted that a nuisance suit in this context would conflict or compete with the classification system under the Sex Offender Registration Act and, to the extent plaintiff seeks damages, a suit pursuant to the Child Victims Act is available:

“Conduct does not become a public nuisance merely because it interferes with . . . a large number of persons. There must be some interference with a public right. A public right is one common to all members of the general public. It is collective in nature and not like the individual right that everyone has not to be assaulted or defamed or defrauded or negligently injured” … . Here, the complaint alleges the infringement of, at most, a common right of a particular subset of the community, i.e., a group of Roman Catholic parishioners in the area of the Diocese who attended or were active in the priest’s parishes. The complaint does not allege that the general public was exposed to the priest’s conduct, nor does it otherwise allege interference with a collective right belonging to all members of the public … . …

Penal Law § 240.45 does not imply a private right of action under the circumstances presented here. “Where a penal statute does not expressly confer a private right of action on individuals pursuing civil relief, recovery under such a statute may be had only if a private right of action may fairly be implied’ ” … . Three essential factors are considered in determining whether a private right of action may fairly be implied: “(1) whether the plaintiff is one of the class for whose particular benefit the statute was enacted; (2) whether recognition of a private right of action would promote the legislative purpose; and (3) whether creation of such a right would be consistent with the legislative scheme” … . Golden v The Diocese of Buffalo, NY, 2020 NY Slip Op 03354, Fourth Dept, 6-12-20

June 12, 2020/by Bruce Freeman

Criminal Law, Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA)

ALTHOUGH PETITIONER WAS ADJUDICATED A LEVEL THREE SEX OFFENDER AFTER HIS RELEASE FROM PRISON ON A PRIOR RAPE CONVICTION, HE WAS NOT SUBJECT TO THE RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS OF THE SEXUAL ASSAULT REFORM ACT AFTER HIS RELEASE FROM PRISON ON A SUBSEQUENT ROBBERY/BURGLARY CONVICTION (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined petitioner, who was adjudicated a level three sex offender when released after a prior rape conviction, was not subject to the residential restrictions under the Sexual Assault Reform Act (Executive Law § 259-c (14)) upon release after his subsequent robbery/burglary convictions and incarceration:

In 2007, petitioner was convicted of robbery in the second degree and burglary in the third degree, resulting in a sentence of concurrent prison terms, the maximum of which was 13 years in prison, followed by five years of postrelease supervision. In 2017, petitioner reached the conditional release date of that sentence and the Board of Parole determined that, because he was a risk level three sex offender as a result of his 1989 conviction, he was subject to the provisions of the Sexual Assault Reform Act as set forth in Executive Law § 259-c (14) (L 2000, ch 1, as amended by L 2005, ch 544), which, as relevant here, prohibits him from residing within 1,000 feet of school grounds. Petitioner failed to offer any proposed residence that would permit him to comply with that condition, other than the New York City homeless shelter system, which the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision regarded as inappropriate. As such, petitioner was maintained in the custody of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. …

For the reasons stated in People ex rel. Negron v Superintendent, Woodbourne Corr. Facility (170 AD3d 12 [2019]), we agree with petitioner and find that he is not subject to the conditions of Executive Law § 259-c (14) (see Matter of Cajigas v Stanford, 169 AD3d 1168 [2019] … . Matter of Green v LaClair, 2020 NY Slip Op 02338, Third Dept 4-23-20

April 23, 2020/by Bruce Freeman

Criminal Law, Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA)

NEW JERSEY CONVICTION FOR LEWDNESS, ALTHOUGH NOT A REGISTRABLE OFFENSE IN NEW JERSEY, IS THE EQUIVALENT OF ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF A CHILD; IT IS APPROPRIATE TO CONSIDER THE CONDUCT UNDERLYING THE FOREIGN OFFENSE IN ADDITION TO THE ELEMENTS OF THE OFFENSE; 30 POINT ASSESSMENT BASED ON THE NEW JERSEY CONVICTION WAS CORRECT (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Feinman, over a concurrence and a two-judge dissent, determined defendant was properly assessed 30 points based upon his prior New Jersey conviction for lewdness. The New Jersey offense, based upon defendant’s repeatedly exposing himself to the 12-year-old victim, was deemed the equivalent of New York’s endangering the welfare of a child:

At the SORA court hearing, defendant challenged the assessment of 30 points under risk factor 9, asserting that his New Jersey lewdness conviction was neither a registrable offense in New Jersey nor did the comparable offense under New York law—public lewdness (a misdemeanor)—subject defendant to SORA registration in New York … . * * *

At the outset, we must resolve whether reliance on the underlying conduct of a prior foreign conviction is appropriate as a matter of law for purposes of assessing points under risk factor 9 when conducting a SORA risk-level determination. Under these circumstances, we hold that it is. * * *

Our analysis of the New Jersey conviction starts with North v Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders of State of New York, wherein we considered whether the defendant was required to register as a sex offender as a result of his federal conviction for possession of child pornography (8 NY3d 745 [2007]). That question turned on the “essential elements” provision in SORA, which defines “sex offense,” in relevant part, as “a conviction of an offense in any other jurisdiction which includes all of the essential elements of any [registrable sex offense in New York listed in section 168-a (2) of the Correction Law]” … . We concluded that, with respect to registrable offenses, the “essential elements” provision “requires registration whenever an individual is convicted of criminal conduct in a foreign jurisdiction that, if committed in New York, would have amounted to a registrable New York offense” … . …

In the SORA registration context … we [have held] that the strict equivalency standard was “not the optimal vehicle to effectuate SORA’s remedial purposes” and it was thus appropriate to utilize a more flexible approach that allowed consideration of the underlying conduct of a foreign conviction in addition to comparing the essential elements of the foreign and New York offense … . People v Perez, 2020 NY Slip Op 02096, CtApp 3-26-20

March 26, 2020/by Bruce Freeman

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE OF SEXUAL CONTACT; RISK LEVEL REDUCED FROM LEVEL TWO TO ONE (FOURTH DEPT).

A SINGLE PROMOTING PRISON CONTRABAND CONVICTION FOUR YEARS BEFORE DID NOT SUPPORT A TEN POINT ASSESSMENT FOR UNSATISFACTORY CONDUCT; RISK LEVEL REDUCED FROM TWO TO ONE (SECOND DEPT).

AN AUTOMATIC OVERRIDE ALLOWING A LEVEL THREE RISK ASSESSMENT WAS PROPERLY APPLIED TO A PSYCHOLOGICAL ABNORMALITY NOT SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED IN THE SORA RISK LEVEL GUIDELINES (SECOND DEPT).

DEFENDANT’S PHYSICAL CONDITION AFTER A STROKE WARRANTED A DOWNWARD MODIFICATION OF HIS SORA RISK LEVEL FROM THREE TO TWO (SECOND DEPT).

PEOPLE’S REQUEST FOR AN UPWARD DEPARTURE IN THIS SORA RISK ASSESSMENT PROCEEDING SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

SUPREME COURT’S DENIAL OF DEFENDANT’S PETITION TO MODIFY HIS SORA RISK LEVEL CLASSIFICATION WITHOUT HOLDING A HEARING VIOLATED THE CORRECTION LAW (SECOND DEPT).

PETITIONER SOUGHT A REDUCTION OF HIS 1996 LEVEL THREE SEX OFFENDER CLASSIFICATION BUT COUNTY COURT DENIED THE PETITION WITHOUT REQUESTING AN UPDATED RECOMMENDATION FROM THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS OF SEX OFFENDERS IN VIOLATION OF THE CORRECTION LAW; ORDER REVERSED AND MATTER REMITTED (THIRD DEPT).

COMPLAINT AGAINST THE DIOCESE OF BUFFALO ALLEGING SEXUAL ABUSE BY A PRIEST DID NOT STATE A CAUSE OF ACTION FOR PUBLIC NUISANCE (FOURTH DEPT).

ALTHOUGH PETITIONER WAS ADJUDICATED A LEVEL THREE SEX OFFENDER AFTER HIS RELEASE FROM PRISON ON A PRIOR RAPE CONVICTION, HE WAS NOT SUBJECT TO THE RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS OF THE SEXUAL ASSAULT REFORM ACT AFTER HIS RELEASE FROM PRISON ON A SUBSEQUENT ROBBERY/BURGLARY CONVICTION (THIRD DEPT).

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