People v. Twist

Decision Date18 November 2016
Parties The PEOPLE of the State of New York, v. John P. TWIST, Defendant.
CourtNew York City Court

54 Misc.3d 377
44 N.Y.S.3d 688

The PEOPLE of the State of New York,
v.
John P. TWIST, Defendant.

City Court, City of Canandaigua, New York. Ontario County.

Nov. 18, 2016.


44 N.Y.S.3d 688

R. Michael Tantillo, District Attorney by V. Christopher Eaggleston, Esq., Assistant District Attorney, of Counsel, for the People.

Joseph S. Dressner, Esq., for defendant.

STEPHEN D. ARONSON, J.

54 Misc.3d 378

In a case of first impression, it is held that where a defendant is sentenced to a conditional discharge and is ordered, both orally and in writing, to comply with ignition interlock device (IID) requirements, and the monitor notifies the court of an IID violation, the sentencing court retains jurisdiction to deal with the IID violation regardless of whether the oral and written conditional discharge orders spell out the prohibited conduct.

On July 13, 2016, the defendant pled guilty and was sentenced to misdemeanor of driving while intoxicated in violation of

44 N.Y.S.3d 689

Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192(3). At sentencing, the court stated, in pertinent part: "there is a one-year conditional discharge; the conditions being that you comply with ignition interlock device requirements for a period of 12 months and have a device on your vehicle for a consecutive period of 6 months." There were also written orders of conditional discharge issued on a form generated by the Unified Court System (UCS–965B) requiring that the defendant install and maintain an ignition interlock device. On August 17, 2016, the county's IID monitor notified the court:

"On 08/04/16 at 11:21 a.m., the defendant attempted to start and operate his vehicle while testing positive for alcohol (.132%). The defendant then failed to submit to a "Start Retest" and as a result, his vehicle entered a lockout mode."

On September 13, 2016, the court signed a declaration of delinquency, charging the defendant with violation of a condition of his sentence "in that on or about August 4, 2016, at 11:21 a.m., the defendant attempted to start and operate his vehicle while testing positive for alcohol (.132% BAC). The defendant then failed to submit to a ‘Start Retest’ and as a result, his vehicle entered a lockout mode."

On September 26, 2016, defendant's counsel filed a motion to dismiss the declaration of delinquency with prejudice on the grounds, among others, that the Orders and Conditions of Conditional Discharge signed by the court and by the defendant on July 13, 2016, do not include language prohibiting the actions

54 Misc.3d 379

taken by the defendant on August 4, 2016. The defendant contends there is no language making an attempt to start the vehicle while testing positive for alcohol a violation of the Orders and Conditions, and there is no language making failure to submit a "start retest," causing the vehicle to enter lockout mode, a violation of the Orders and Conditions. The assistant district attorney acknowledges there is no language in the Orders and Conditions describing the proscribed conduct. The defendant cites no legal authority in support of his position other than that the official Orders and Conditions form issued to all courts by the New York State Office of Court Administration (UCS–965B) is defective in that it fails to include prohibitions on the behavior at issue in this case even though these behaviors are statutorily prohibited.

ANALYSIS

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1 cases
  • People v. Stewart
    • United States
    • New York City Court
    • 18 Febrero 2021
    ...while the case was pending as there was no other way to supervise the defendant in Pennsylvania from New York City); People v. Twist , 54 Misc. 3d 377, 381, 44 N.Y.S.3d 688 [City Ct., City of Canandaigua, 2016] (the court retains jurisdiction on a conditional discharge to adjudicate any vio......

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