X

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Sandra M. Colatosti, Albany, for appellant. Kirk O. Martin, District Attorney, Owego (Cheryl Mancini of counsel), for respondent. Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Tioga County (Matthew C. Hayden, J.), rendered March 1, 2023, which revoked defendant’s probation and imposed a sentence of imprisonment. In February 2022, defendant pleaded guilty to criminal contempt in the first degree and making terroristic threats in satisfaction of an 11-count indictment and other pending charges. He was sentenced to “time served” on the criminal contempt conviction and five years of probation on the conviction of making terroristic threats. In October 2022, County Court issued a declaration of delinquency, and defendant was charged with violating various conditions of his probation. Following a probation violation hearing, County Court found that the People proved by a preponderance of the evidence that defendant violated numerous conditions of his probation. Based upon the belief that it was prohibited from continuing defendant’s probation, County Court revoked defendant’s probation and imposed a sentence of 3 1/2 years in prison, to be followed by 1 1/2 years of postrelease supervision. Defendant appeals. Although County Court was correct that it could not impose a sentence on defendant, who had pleaded guilty to a class D felony, consisting of a term of incarceration exceeding six months and at the same time a five-year period of probation (see Penal Law § 60.01 [2] [d]; People v. McClure, 26 AD3d 674, 674-675 [3d Dept 2006]), we agree with defendant that this was not the situation before County Court at the time of sentencing. Rather, defendant had been originally sentenced on two offenses, the first being “time served” on his guilty plea to criminal contempt in the first degree. Even though defendant remained in custody for a period of time longer than six months, a colloquial sentence of “time served” still operates as a six-month sentence (see People v. Aleman, 119 AD3d 1319, 1319 [3d Dept 2014], lv denied 24 NY3d 1042 [2014]; People v. Cortese, 79 AD3d 1281, 1284 [3d Dept 2010], lv denied 16 NY3d 857 [2011]; People v. Marinaccio, 297 AD2d 754, 755 [2d Dept 2002], lv denied 99 NY2d 560 [2002]). Since defendant was also originally sentenced to five years of probation on the second charge, upon the determination that defendant had violated his probation, County Court was not prohibited from continuing defendant’s probation as long as it did not impose an additional term of incarceration (compare People v. Gauthier, 73 AD3d 1229, 1230 [3d Dept 2010]). Accordingly, given that the record reveals that County Court had, over the span of several appearances, expressly contemplated continuing defendant’s probation but ultimately erred in concluding that it was not legally permitted to do so despite it being an option (see CPL 410.70 [5]; Penal Law § 60.10 [2] [d]), we vacate the sentence imposed and remand for resentencing. Clark, J.P., Pritzker, Ceresia and Mackey, JJ., concur. ORDERED that the judgment is modified, on the law, by vacating the sentence imposed; matter remitted to the County Court of Tioga County for resentencing; and, as so modified, affirmed.

 
Reprints & Licensing
Mentioned in a Law.com story?

License our industry-leading legal content to extend your thought leadership and build your brand.

More From ALM

With this subscription you will receive unlimited access to high quality, online, on-demand premium content from well-respected faculty in the legal industry. This is perfect for attorneys licensed in multiple jurisdictions or for attorneys that have fulfilled their CLE requirement but need to access resourceful information for their practice areas.
View Now
Our Team Account subscription service is for legal teams of four or more attorneys. Each attorney is granted unlimited access to high quality, on-demand premium content from well-respected faculty in the legal industry along with administrative access to easily manage CLE for the entire team.
View Now
Gain access to some of the most knowledgeable and experienced attorneys with our 2 bundle options! Our Compliance bundles are curated by CLE Counselors and include current legal topics and challenges within the industry. Our second option allows you to build your bundle and strategically select the content that pertains to your needs. Both options are priced the same.
View Now
November 27, 2024
London

Celebrating achievement, excellence, and innovation in the legal profession in the UK.


Learn More
December 02, 2024 - December 03, 2024
Scottsdale, AZ

Join the industry's top owners, investors, developers, brokers and financiers for the real estate healthcare event of the year!


Learn More
December 11, 2024
Las Vegas, NV

This event shines a spotlight on how individuals and firms are changing the investment advisory industry where it matters most.


Learn More

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROSECUTION PARALEGAL - NEW JERSEY OR NEW YORK OFFICESProminent mid-Atlantic law firm with multiple regional office lo...


Apply Now ›

The Republic of Palau Judiciary is seeking applicants for one Associate Justice position who will be assigned to the Appellate Division of ...


Apply Now ›

Experienced Insurance Defense Attorney.No in office requirement.Send resume to:


Apply Now ›