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THE BANK DID NOT DEMONSTRATE COMPLIANCE WITH THE NOTICE REQUIREMENTS OF RPAPL 1304; THE BANK’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the bank did not demonstrate compliance with the notice requirements of RPAPL 1304:

… [T]he affidavit of Lori Spisak, an “authorized signer” of the plaintiff, submitted in support of the plaintiff’s motion, was insufficient to establish that the RPAPL 1304 notice was properly mailed, because Spisak did not have personal knowledge of the mailing, and her affidavit did not contain proof of the plaintiff’s standard office mailing procedure at the time the RPAPL 1304 notice allegedly was sent. The plaintiff also did not provide any independent proof of actual mailing. Moreover, the plaintiff failed to demonstrate that the RPAPL 1304 notice it allegedly sent was in at least fourteen-point type. Capital One, N.A. v Liman, 2021 NY Slip Op 02270, Second Dept 4-14-21

 

Where Defendant Was Released on a Writ of Habeas Corpus, the Relevant Period of Incarceration Can Not Be Excluded from the Ten-Year Second Violent Felony Offender Calculation; Without That Exclusion, Defendant Could Not Be Sentenced as a Second Felon

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Pigott, determined (1) Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) 120.90, requiring a quick arraignment after arrest, only applies where the defendant is arrested by police officers (here corrections officers told defendant of his arrest); (2) CPL 190.50, requiring notice of a grand jury presentation, does not apply where defendant has not been arraigned in a local court; and (3) the 442 days defendant was incarcerated for a parole violation could not be excluded from the ten-year “second violent felony offender” calculation because he was released from that incarceration on a writ of habeas corpus. Without that 442-day exclusion, defendant’s prior conviction was older than ten years and he could not be sentenced as a second felon:

A defendant who stands convicted of a violent felony may be adjudicated a second violent felony offender if he was previously convicted of a violent felony within ten years of the current offense (see Penal Law § 70.04[1][b][iv]). “[A]ny period of time during which the person was incarcerated for any reason between the time of commission of the previous felony and the time of commission of the present felony” is excluded from the ten-year calculation (Penal Law § 70.04[1][b][v]). * * *

Although the habeas court did not vacate defendant’s conviction for a parole violation, it did grant his immediate release from confinement after determining that “the evidence did not support” defendant’s incarceration. A person “illegally imprisoned or otherwise restrained in his liberty . . . may petition without notice for a writ of habeas corpus to inquire into the cause of such detention and for deliverance” (CPLR 7002[a]). If a judge considering the habeas petition determines that a person has been unlawfully detained, he “shall . . . issue a writ of habeas corpus for the relief of that person” (id.). That the habeas court in this case granted defendant’s immediate release based on a lack of evidence indicates that defendant was “imprisoned without reason” from 1992-1993. People v Small, 2015 NY Slip Op 08457, CtApp 11-19-15

 

Sentencing a Defendant with a Prior Felony Conviction as a First-Time Felon Is Illegal

The Fourth Department determined that sentencing a defendant with a prior felony conviction as a first-time felon is illegal:

…[T]he proper sentencing procedures pursuant to CPL 400.21 were not followed and thus that the sentence may be illegal. County Court sentenced defendant as a first felony offender, but, ” [w]hen it became apparent at sentencing that defendant had a prior felony conviction, the People were required to file a second felony offender statement in accordance with CPL 400.21 and, if appropriate, the court was then required to sentence defendant as a second felony offender’ ” … . “[I]t is illegal to sentence a known predicate felon as a first offender” (id. [internal quotation marks omitted]) and, inasmuch as we cannot allow an illegal sentence to stand, we modify the judgment by vacating the sentence imposed and we remit the matter to County Court for the filing of a predicate felony offender statement and resentencing in accordance with the law … . People v johnson, 2015 NY Slip Op 00062, 4th Dept 1-2-15

 

Conviction for Which an Illegal Sentence Was Imposed Can Not Serve as the Basis for a Second-Felony-Offender Adjudication

The Second Department determined that a prior conviction could not serve as the basis of defendant’s second-felony-offender adjudication.  The 1993 conviction was subject to an illegal sentence which was not remedied until after the commission of the instant offenses:

The defendant’s adjudication as a second felony offender was improper. The predicate for this adjudication was a 1993 conviction for which, the parties agree, an illegal sentence was imposed. A lawful sentence on that conviction was not imposed until after the instant crimes were committed. The relevant statute provides, however, that for purposes of determining whether a prior conviction is a predicate felony conviction, the sentence upon such prior conviction “must have been imposed before commission of the present felony” (Penal Law § 70.06[1][b][ii]). Thus, the 1993 matter may not serve as a predicate felony conviction in the instant case (see Penal Law § 70.06[1][b][ii]…). We reach this determination notwithstanding the fact that the defendant did not move to set aside his sentence in the 1993 matter until after the sentence in the instant case was imposed, as “multiple offender status is defined by the plain statutory language, which courts are not free to disregard” at will … . People v Esquiled, 2014 NY Slip Op 06839, 2nd Dept 10-8-14

 

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Court Is Not Required to Notify Defendant of His Right to Contest the Constitutionality of His Prior Conviction Before Sentencing Defendant as a Second Felony Offender

The Third Department noted that the sentencing court was not required to notify defendant of his right to contest the constitutionality of his prior conviction before sentencing defendant as a second felony offender:

” ‘County Court was not obligated to expressly advise defendant of his right to contest the constitutionality of the prior conviction'” … . Here, the record reveals that defendant was provided with the prior felony information before sentencing and, while represented by counsel during sentencing, declined to deny or controvert any of the allegations in the information. Accordingly, County Court substantially complied with the requirements of CPL 400.21 (3), and defendant was properly sentenced as a second felony offender … . People v Wilkins, 2014 NY Slip Op 04083, 3rd Dept 6-5-14

 

Out of State Conviction of then 15-Year-Old Could Not Serve as Basis for Second Felony Offender Sentence

The Court of Appeals determined that the defendant’s Pennsylvania conviction for third degree murder (when the defendant was 15) could not serve as the basis for a second felony offender sentence.  In so finding, the court noted that the error did not need to be preserved for the Court of Appeals to reach it:

As an initial matter, we conclude that this case falls within the narrow exception to our preservation rule permitting appellate review when a sentence’s illegality is readily discernible from the trial record … . * * *

Penal Law § 30.00 (1) specifies that a person must be at least 16 years old to be criminally responsible for his conduct.  Penal Law § 30.00 (2) lists crimes that are exceptions to this age requirement, but second-degree manslaughter is not among them.  So assuming as we must for purposes of this appeal that third-degree murder in Pennsylvania is equivalent to second degree manslaughter in New York, defendant’s Pennsylvania conviction was not a predicate felony conviction within the meaning of Penal Law § 70.06 (b) (i) because he could not even have been prosecuted for second-degree manslaughter in New York at the age of 15.  People v Santiago, 159, CtApp 10-15-13

 

10-Year Period for Predicate Felony Tolled by Incarceration​

The Second Department noted that incarceration tolls the 10-year period for consideration of a predicate felony:

Although the period of time between the defendant’s 1999 conviction and the commission of the felonies for which he stands convicted in this case was more than 10 years, the 1999 conviction constituted a predicate felony for purposes of second felony offender sentencing, since the 10-year statutory period was tolled while the defendant was incarcerated from May 5, 2000, to February 22, 2007 (see Penal Law §§ 70.06[1][b][iv], [v]; 70.70[3][b][i]). People v McCray, 2013 NY Slip Op 03857, 2nd Dept, 5-29-13

 

Procedure for Sentencing a Second Felony Offender Not Followed

The Second Department sent the matter back for resentencing because of the sentencing court’s failure to follow the statutory procedure for adjudicating defendant a second felony offender:

As the People correctly concede, the sentencing court adjudicated the defendant a second felony offender (see Penal Law § 70.06) absent any indication of compliance with the procedural requirements of CPL 400.21, or any showing that the defendant was given notice and an opportunity to be heard …. Accordingly, we remit the matter to the County Court, Suffolk County, for resentencing in accordance with the mandates of CPL 400.21 ….  People v Puca, 2013 NY Slip Op 03114, 2nd Dept, 5-1-13

 

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