Effective May 14, 2019, the New York Legislature enacted the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA), thus authorizing alternative sentences for defendants who were victims of domestic abuse and for whom the abuse was a “significant contributing factor” to their “criminal behavior.” (Penal Law §60.12). A corollary provision of the Act, CPL §440.47, (effective Aug. 12, 2019), provides for resentencing relief for certain victims of domestic abuse.

A Welcome Challenge

The recently enacted DVSJA adds a new level of analysis to the already difficult judicial duty of sentencing. Yet it should be a welcome challenge, if what we seek to impose on our fellow citizens is a just sentence informed by what we have learned from the rapidly developing behavioral sciences and a growing awareness about the dynamics of domestic violence. This article takes a look at the judicial knowledge and analysis that must now be brought to bear in the course of this new sentencing determination. But before doing so, let’s review what has previously been required for a judicial sentencing determination.

Sentencing Prior to the DVSJA

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