Senate Bill S5306A

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S5306A

SPONSOR: AKSHAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the penal law, in relation to revoca-
ble sentences of probation or conditional discharge and imprisonment

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The bill would authorize an increase in the maximum jail sentence - from
60 days to 90 days - that may be imposed for a misdemeanor drug
convictions and misdemeanor domestic violence convictions where there is
a concurrent sentence of jail plus probation or conditions, i.e., a
split sentence.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This is one in a series of measures being introduced at the request of
the Chief Administrative Judge upon the recommendation of his Local
Courts Advisory Committee.

This measure targets a specific problem related to misdemeanor domestic
              

violence offenses and misdemeanor drug offenses that do not quality for
drug court. It would authorize an increase in the maximum jail sentence
- from 60 days to 90 days - that may be imposed for a misdemeanor drug
convictions and misdemeanor domestic violence convictions where there is
a concurrent sentence of jail plus probation or conditions, i.e., a
split sentence. Penal Law 60.01(2)(d) now authorizes a court to impose a
split sentence of up to a maximum of 60 days in jail for a misdemeanor,
along with a term of probation, which together cannot exceed the author-
ized term of probation as set forth in Penal Law § 65.00(3). See People
v Zephrin, 14 NY3d 296, 299-300 (2010).

The split sentence option of Penal Law 60.01(2)(d) provides for an
important sentencing alternative in those cases where neither a straight
jail term alone nor a supervisory sentence is considered appropriate by
itself. Unfortunately, however, there are many cases where the judge at
sentencing or the prosecutor during plea negotiations may feel
constrained to reject the split sentence in favor of straight imprison-
ment because of discomfort with the thought of sentencing the defendant
to only 60 days in jail. This deprives many defendants, especially in
drug treatment and other specialty courts, of the beneficial rehabilita-
tive options available through probation. Similarly, in the case of
domestic violence, rejection of the split sentence deprives victims of
the protection of a cooling off period from an abuser. This is critical
because the court appearance is often a trigger point for an abuser -
viz., a point following which he or she is most likely to seek revenge
and, consequently, a point at which he or she is most in need of court
supervision. We believe that split sentences would be utilized more
widely if judges had the discretion to impose a jail term of up to 90
days as part of the overall split sentence, and that fewer prosecutors
would insist on long sentences of straight jail time if there was an
option of combining probation with a jail term of 90 days instead of
only 60 days. In our view, sentencing a defendant with underlying prob-
lems like drug addiction and domestic violence to a split sentence of 90
days plus probation generally produces better results than sentencing
the defendant to a longer term of straight jail time without the bene-
fits and rehabilitative options available through probation.


In order to effectuate the foregoing goals, this measure would amend
Penal Law 60.01(2)(d) to increase, from 60 days to 90 days, the maximum
period of incarceration that may be served in conjunction with a
sentence of probation or conditional discharge for certain Class A
misdemeanor.

This measure, which would take effect November 1st after becoming a law,
would have no fiscal impact on the State - although it may very well
produce some cost savings for localities (in that greater use of split
sentences could yield a net overall reduction in jail stays for affected
criminal defendants).

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

OCA 2017-69
Senate 5306: Referred to Rules

OCA 2016-66
Senate 6940: Referred to Codes

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall become
a law.