Resentencing Options for New York Drug Offenders
Since 2004, drug offenders convicted in New York have been given determinate sentences, whereas prior to 2004, New York penal law provided indeterminate sentences for drug offenders. The range of determinate sentences for a given offense were significantly lowered for drug offenders with the amendments to the Drug Law Reform Act in 2009. These amendments also allowed certain convicted drug offenders to apply for resentencing. Being resentenced under the current law means you may be able to receive a determinate sentence that is lower than your current indeterminate sentence. See below to learn more about resentencing and to see if you are eligible for resentencing. To discuss whether you would benefit from resentencing in your particular circumstances and how to apply, contact Dupée & Monroe in Goshen to speak with one of our knowledgeable and experienced New York criminal defense attorneys.
Eligibility criteria for resentencing
If you are serving an indeterminate sentence for a drug offense committed prior to January 13, 2005, you may be able to apply for resentencing. To be eligible for resentencing, you must currently be in custody of the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DCCS) on a class B felony conviction. Additionally, you must have been sentenced to a maximum term that exceeds three years. Another feature of the law allows you to also seek resentencing for any class C, D or E felony sentence that was imposed at the same time as sentencing for the class B felony.
You must give notice to the district attorney that you are applying for resentencing. The court will consider your confinement record, participation in treatment and other programs, your disciplinary history, and similar factors in deciding whether to resentence. Having a qualified criminal defense attorney prepare and argue your case can position you with the best chance for success.
What makes you ineligible for resentencing
You will be considered ineligible for resentencing if you were convicted of an exclusion offense in the past ten years, not counting any time you have been incarcerated. Basically, an exclusion offense for these purposes is any predicate felony conviction for a violent felony or other offense that is ineligible for merit-time. Also, having been previously adjudicated for a second violent felony offense or as a persistent violent offender can exclude you from applying for resentencing.
Resentencing Opportunities for Parolees
When first enacted in 2009, the opportunity for resentencing only applied to persons who were incarcerated at the time and was not available for persons on parole. However, the law was amended in 2011 to apply to people under “community supervision” as well as those in Department of Corrections custody (Department of Corrections is now the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision). As a parolee, even though you are not under the physical custody of DCCS in a correctional facility, you are still under their legal custody. It seems clear that non-incarcerated parolees who otherwise meet the criteria for resentencing are eligible to apply.
Call Dupée & Monroe in Goshen to Discuss Resentencing Options in Your Case
If you were convicted of a class B felony drug offense and given an indeterminate sentence, talk to an experienced New York criminal defense attorney to learn whether you are eligible and may benefit from resentencing. In the Hudson Valley, call Dupée & Monroe in Goshen at 845-294-8900.
