Relates to certain guilty pleas where the plea is in the interest of justice and which are entered into with both the permission of the court and the consent of the people.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10024
SPONSOR: Romero TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to certain guil-
ty pleas
PURPOSE:
This bill will increase the Court's discretion to accept pleas and to
impose sentences with the consent of the parties.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) 220.10(5) to
add a new paragraph (i) allowing courts to accept pleas below current
statutory plea reduction thresholds with the consent of the prosecutor
and defendant.
Section 2 of the bill amends CPL 220.30(3)(b) to add a new subparagraph
(x) allowing courts to accept pleas below current statutory plea
reduction thresholds with the consent of the prosecutor and defendant.
Section 3 of the bill amends CPL 220.10(5) to add a new paragraph (j)
allowing courts to impose upon predicate felony offenders any sentence
authorized for offenders without such predicate convictions.
Section 4 of the bill provides that the act is effective immediately and
applies prospectively to all pleas taken and sentences imposed on or
after the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
This proposal would allow courts, with the consent of the prosecutor and
the defendant, to: (1) accept pleas below current statutory plea
reduction thresholds; and (ii) impose upon predicate felony offenders
sentences authorized for offenders without such predicate status. The
Criminal Procedure Law contains multiple mostly post-indictment
restrictions on plea bargaining that often frustrate courts' and
parties' ability to negotiate acceptable, fair, and just dispositions
because of requirements that defendants plead to more serious crimes,
often with higher mandatory minimum sentences. The first prong of this
proposal seeks to ameliorate the unfairness and inefficiency of the
present statutory scheme by allowing a plea to go forward despite the
restrictions mandating a more serious plea and sentence when the court
and the prosecution agree that it is just to do so. With the concurrence
of the People, the court may determine that the plea is in the interest
of justice in light of the nature and circumstances of crime, the avail-
able evidence, and the history and character of the defendant. This
multi-factored assessment and finding must be placed on the record to
ensure appropriate use of this new discretion.
Current law imposes mandatory minimum sentences which increase if a
defendant has one or more predicate felony convictions. There are cases,
however, where the court, the defendant and the prosecutor agree that
the circumstances of a crime and the defendant's criminal history should
allow a guilty plea with a promised sentence lower than that required
for such predicate felony offenders. For example, a defendant with a
predicate felony conviction pleading guilty to a Class D non-violent
felony (other than a narcotics crime), such as the unarmed burglarizing
of a non-residential building without causing any injuries, must receive
a minimum indeterminate sentence of 2-4 years, even if the prosecutor,
defendant and court believe a lower sentence is appropriate. In such
circumstances, under current law, the court is powerless to accept a
plea with a promised sentence of less than the statutory 2-4 year mini-
mum term.
This legislation would also allow the court, on consent of the People,
to accept a guilty plea with a promised sentence below current mandatory
minimum thresholds for predicate felony offenders "when, upon review of
the nature and circumstances of the criminal conduct, the available
evidence and the history and character of the defendant, the prosecutor
and the court are of the opinion that the plea permitted by this
legis-
lation is in the interest of justice." When such a lesser sentence is
appropriate, the court may then impose a sentence that would be author-
ized if the offender were not a predicate felon. The prosecution is
explicitly permitted to condition such a plea on the defendant being
adjudicated as a second felony, second felony drug, second violent felo-
ny, or persistent violent felony offender, as applicable, to allow for
more serious penalties to be imposed were such a defendant to subse-
quently reoffend despite being offered this leniency.
The plea provision and the sentencing provision may be utilized simul-
taneously or separately depending on the circumstances of the negotiated
disposition.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to pleas entered
and sentences imposed on or after such date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10024
IN ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROMERO -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to certain guil-
ty pleas
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 220.10 of the criminal procedure
2 law is amended by adding a new paragraph (i) to read as follows:
3 (i) A defendant, with both the permission of the court and the consent
4 of the people, may enter a plea of guilty as authorized by this section,
5 notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (f) and
6 (h) of this subdivision, when upon review of the nature and circum-
7 stances of the criminal conduct, the available evidence and the history
8 and character of the defendant, the prosecutor and the court are of the
9 opinion that the plea permitted by this paragraph is in the interest of
10 justice. The factors warranting the plea shall be placed on the record;
11 provided, however, the failure to do so shall not entitle the defendant
12 to have the plea of guilty set aside.
13 § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of section 220.30 of the criminal
14 procedure law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (x) to read as
15 follows:
16 (x) A defendant, with both the permission of the court and the consent
17 of the people, may enter a plea of guilty as authorized by this section,
18 notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii), (iv),
19 (v), (vi), (vii), and (ix) of this paragraph, when upon review of the
20 nature and circumstances of the criminal conduct, the available evidence
21 and the history and character of the defendant, the prosecutor and the
22 court are of the opinion that the plea permitted by this subparagraph is
23 in the interest of justice. The factors warranting the plea shall be
24 placed on the record; provided, however, the failure to do so shall not
25 entitle the defendant to have the plea of guilty set aside.
26 § 3. Subdivision 5 of section 220.10 of the criminal procedure law is
27 amended by adding a new paragraph (j) to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14444-01-6
A. 10024 2
1 (j) (i) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of article seventy of
2 the penal law, in any case where the defendant appears to be a second
3 felony offender or a second felony drug offender pursuant to section
4 400.21 of this part, a second violent felony offender pursuant to
5 section 400.15 of this part or a persistent violent felony offender
6 pursuant to section 400.16 of this part, the defendant may, under the
7 conditions set forth in this paragraph, enter a plea of guilty to an
8 offense with the sentence for such offense being any sentence authorized
9 for such offense in the case of a defendant without any such status as a
10 predicate felon. The court shall treat any such promise in the same
11 manner it would any other lawful sentence promise in connection with a
12 plea of guilty.
13 (ii) The people may require, as a condition of any such plea, that the
14 defendant be adjudicated as a second felony offender, second felony drug
15 offender, second violent felony offender or persistent violent felony
16 offender, as the case may be, or may waive any such adjudication;
17 provided, however, that if the people require any such adjudication and
18 the defendant has not agreed to it as a condition of the plea, the
19 defendant may withdraw such plea prior to the imposition of the
20 sentence.
21 (iii) The sentencing of a defendant pursuant to any such plea shall
22 not impact whether any conviction is considered a predicate felony or
23 predicate violent felony conviction under the penal law or this chapter
24 for any reason other than the lawful term of the imposed sentence under
25 this subdivision.
26 (iv) A plea of guilty may be entered under this paragraph, and a
27 sentence authorized by this paragraph may be imposed, only with both the
28 permission of the court and the consent of the people and when, upon
29 review of the nature and circumstances of the criminal conduct, the
30 available evidence and the history and character of the defendant, the
31 prosecutor and the court are of the opinion that the plea and sentence
32 permitted by this paragraph are in the interest of justice. The factors
33 supporting such opinion shall be placed on the record; provided, howev-
34 er, the failure to do so shall not entitle the defendant to have the
35 plea of guilty or the sentence set aside.
36 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to pleas
37 entered and sentences imposed on or after such date.
