People v. Martinez
Opinion of the Court
—Judgment unanimously modified on the law and as modified affirmed and matter remitted to Monroe County Court for further proceedings in accordance with the following Memorandum: The presentence investigation report indicates that, prior to commission of the subject crimes, defendant had been convicted of grand larceny in the fourth degree, a class E felony, and that defendant was a second felony offender. Under the circumstances, the People were required to file a second felony offender statement with the court prior to sentencing, and the court was required to sentence defendant as a second felony offender (see, CPL 400.21). The failure to comply with those statutory mandates renders the sentence invalid as a matter of law (see, People v Scarbrough, 66 NY2d 673, revg on dissent of Boomer, J., 105 AD2d 1107, 1107-1109). We reach the issue sua sponte because an unlawful sentence cannot stand (see, People v Palmeri, 186 AD2d 1075; People v Mohammed, 151 AD2d 1018, Iv denied 74 NY2d 815; People v Price, 140 AD2d 927, 928; People v Peale, 122 AD2d 353). Thus, we modify the
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.