Opinion
8577 Ind. 2567/10
03-05-2019
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. William POWELL, Defendant–Appellant.
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Molly Schindler of counsel), for appellant. Darcel D. Clark, District Attorney, Bronx (Nicole Neckles of counsel), for respondent.
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Molly Schindler of counsel), for appellant.
Darcel D. Clark, District Attorney, Bronx (Nicole Neckles of counsel), for respondent.
Acosta, P.J., Richter, Manzanet–Daniels, Tom, Moulton, JJ.
The court providently exercised its discretion in declining to grant an indefinite adjournment, based on the pendency of an article 10 civil commitment proceeding, of defendant's sex offender classification hearing (see People v. Blum, 166 A.D.3d 571, 86 N.Y.S.3d 872 [1st Dept. 2018] ). Defendant's prior felony sex crime conviction automatically resulted in an override to risk level three (see People v. Howard, 27 N.Y.3d 337, 342, 33 N.Y.S.3d 132, 52 N.E.3d 1158 [2016] ); moreover, he had been already been designated a level three sexually violent offender on the prior conviction. The only material issue was whether the court should grant a downward departure despite the override. "Under the circumstances, the possibility that the court would be in a better position to decide the risk assessment issue at the end of defendant's civil commitment, if any, is speculative" ( Blum, 166 A.D.3d at 571, 86 N.Y.S.3d 872 ). In any event, "defendant has the statutory right to seek a modification of his SORA risk level designation in the future" ( People v. Gordon, 147 A.D.3d 988, 988, 48 N.Y.S.3d 195 [2d Dept. 2017], lv denied 29 N.Y.3d 910, 2017 WL 2434734 [2017].
We have considered and rejected defendant's remaining claims.