Provides that where a court imposes a certain sentence for certain misdemeanors and felonies, the court may impose a sentence of probation or conditional discharge provided that the term of probation or conditional discharge together with the term of imprisonment shall not exceed the term of probation or conditional discharge.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1125
SPONSOR: Pretlow TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the penal law, in relation to revoca-
ble sentences of probation or conditional discharge and imprisonment
This is one in a series of measures being introduced by the Chief Admin-
istrative Law Judge upon the recommendation of his Advisory Committee on
Criminal Law and Procedure.
This measure would amend paragraph (d) of subdivision two of Penal Law
section 60.01 to increase the maximum period of incarceration that may
be served in conjunction with a sentence of probation or a conditional
discharge (i.e., a "split" sentence) from sixty days to ninety days for
class A misdemeanors, and from six months to nine months for felonies.
Penal Law section 60.01(2)(d) currently permits a sentencing court to
impose, as a condition of probation or a conditional discharge, a defi-
nite or intermittent sentence of imprisonment. Under that section, the
imprisonment portion of this so-called "split" sentence runs concurrent-
ly with the probation or conditional discharge portion of the sentence,
and may not exceed six months when imposed on a felony conviction, or
sixty days when imposed on a misdemeanor conviction. Id.{11 Although the
"split" sentence under section 60.01(2)(d) provides an important
sentencing alternative in cases where neither a "straight" jail nor
supervisory sentence is considered appropriate, there are many cases
where, due to the existing statutory ceiling on the jail portion of the
sentence, the judge at sentencing (or the prosecutor during plea negoti-
ations) may feel constrained to reject the "split" sentence in favor of
straight imprisonment. The Committee believes that this valuable and
cost-effective sentencing option would be even more widely utilized if
judges, in class A misdemeanor and felony prosecutions in particular,
had the discretion to impose a longer jail term as part of the sentence.
This measure, which is based on a recommendation by the New York State
County Court Judges Association, would accomplish this goal by amending
Penal Law section 60.01(2)(d) to increase the permissible maximum period
of the incarceration portion of a split sentence from six months to nine
months for felonies, and from sixty days to ninety days for class A
misdemeanors.
This measure, which would take effect on the first of November following
its enactment and apply only to offenses committed on or after such
date, would have no meaningful fiscal impact on the State.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2015/2016 A1620 referred to codes
2012: A2842 referred to codes
2010: A2510 referred to codes none.
New proposal 2008: A3257 referred to codes (1) When an intermittent jail
sentence is imposed as part of a split sentence, the intermittent
sentence may not, under section 60.01(2)(d), exceed four months. The
measure proposed here would leave this intermittent sentence provision
unchanged. The measure also would leave unchanged the existing sixty-day
jail limitation for a split sentence imposed on a class B misdemeanor
conviction.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law, and shall apply only to
offense committed on or after such date.
