People v. Mitchell

2021 NY Slip Op 04244

People of State of New York, respondent, v. Layshawn Mitchell, appellant. Paul Skip Laisure, New York, NY (Angad Singh of counsel), for appellant.

No. 2019-11454

Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

July 7, 2021

Melinda Katz, District Attorney, Kew Gardens, NY (Johnnette Traill, William H. Branigan, and Matthew C. Harnisch of counsel), for respondent.

HECTOR D. LASALLE, P.J. CHERYL E. CHAMBERS ROBERT J. MILLER COLLEEN D. DUFFY PAUL WOOTEN, JJ.

DECISION & ORDER

Appeal by the defendant from an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Leslie G. Leach, J.), dated September 6, 2019, which after a hearing, designated him a level three sex offender pursuant to Correction Law article 6-C.

ORDERED that the order is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.

The defendant was convicted, upon his plea of guilty, of attempted sodomy in the first degree (Penal Law §§ 110.00, 130.50). After a hearing pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act (Correction Law art 6-C; hereinafter SORA) the Supreme Court designated the defendant a level three sex offender based upon the assessment of a total of 110 points. On appeal, the defendant challenges the assessment of points under risk factor 1, and argues that the court should have granted his request for a downward departure.

In establishing an offender's appropriate risk level under SORA, "[t]he People 'bear the burden of proving the facts supporting the determinations' by clear and convincing evidence" (People v Pettigrew, 14 N.Y.3d 406, 408, quoting Correction Law § 168-n[3]; see People v Mingo, 12 N.Y.3d 563, 571).

Here contrary to the defendant's contention, the People established by clear and convincing evidence that he used forcible compulsion against the complainant, which supported the assessment of 10 points under risk factor 1 (see Penal Law § 130.00[8]; People v Pearce, 135 A.D.3d 722).

"A defendant seeking a downward departure from a presumptive risk level has the initial burden of '(1) identifying, as a matter of law, an appropriate mitigating factor, namely, a factor which tends to establish a lower likelihood of reoffense or danger to the community and is of a kind, or to a degree, that is otherwise not adequately taken into account by the [SORA] Guidelines; and (2) establishing the facts in support of its existence by a preponderance of the evidence'" (People v Umanzor, 189 A.D.3d 1479, 1480, quoting People v Wyatt, 89 A.D.3d 112, 128; see People v Gillotti, 23 N.Y.3d 841, 861; see also SORA: Risk Assessment Guidelines and Commentary at 4 [2006] [hereinafter Guidelines]). "If the defendant makes that twofold showing, the court must exercise its discretion by weighing the mitigating factor to determine whether the totality of the circumstances warrants a departure to avoid an overassessment of the defendant's dangerousness and risk of sexual recidivism" (People v Brocato, 188 A.D.3d 728, 728-729; see People v Gillotti, 23 N.Y.3d at 861).

Here the defendant failed to meet his burden of identifying an appropriate mitigating factor and establishing the facts in support thereof (see People v Wyatt, 89 A.D.3d at 128). Contrary to the defendant's contention, his scores on Static-99 risk assessment instruments do not, standing alone, qualify as an appropriate mitigating factor, and the defendant did not identify any specific, unique risk factor on the Static-99 which would serve as a mitigating factor (see People v Vega, 189 A.D.3d 1288, 1289; People v Desnoyers, 180 A.D.3d 1080, 1081; People v Curry, 158 A.D.3d 52, 58). Although "advanced age" may constitute a basis for a downward departure (Guidelines at 5), the defendant failed to demonstrate that his age at the time of the SORA hearing, 51 years old, constituted an appropriate mitigating factor and minimized his risk of reoffense (see People v Lewis, 188 A.D.3d 731, 732; People v Khan, 182 A.D.3d 613, 614; People v Adams, 174 A.D.3d 828, 829). Similarly, although a debilitating medical condition may constitute a mitigating factor where it reduces the likelihood of reoffense (see People v Collazo, 179 A.D.3d 1103, 1104), the defendant did not demonstrate that his medical conditions would decrease the likelihood of reoffense (People v...