Opinion
October 26, 1970
Appeal by defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Nassau County, rendered November 18, 1969 on resentence. The case is remitted to the County Court for findings of fact and conclusions of law in accordance with the views set forth herein; and appeal held in abeyance in the interim. In 1951 defendant received an indeterminate sentence of one year to life after pleading guilty to the crime of carnal abuse of a female child. In 1969 defendant was returned for resentencing upon the authority of People v. Bailey ( 21 N.Y.2d 588) which required that an indeterminate sentence pursuant to section 2189-a of the former Penal Law be preceded by a hearing. Pursuant to order, defendant was examined by two psychiatrists. A presentence hearing was then held. At the conclusion of the hearing, the County Court held only that defendant was in such a state of mental illness as to be a danger to the public at large and that, because of his failure to control his impulses, there would be a danger that he would commit a sexual crime if at large. In reviewing the record, we are faced with the difficulty that the grounds for the County Court's ultimate finding are not disclosed either by findings or in an opinion. In order to determine the basis of the sentencing court's determination and to make an appeal therefrom meaningful, we hold that the County Court must state, either by findings or in an opinion, the facts upon which it relied in reaching its conclusion in imposing an indeterminate sentence pursuant to section 2189-a of the former Penal Law (cf. People v. Lombardi, 18 A.D.2d 177, affd. 13 N.Y.2d 1014). Rabin, Acting P.J., Hopkins, Martuscello, Latham and Brennan, JJ., concur.