People v. Vega

• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
• Citation: People v. Vega, 40 AD3d 1020, 836 N.Y.S.2d 685, 2007 NY Slip Op 4521 (N.Y. App. Div. 2007)
• Decision Date: 22 May 2007
• Docket Number: 2006-02849.
• Parties: THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. HENRY VEGA, Appellant.

40 A.D.3d 1020

836 N.Y.S.2d 685

2007 NY Slip Op 04521

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. HENRY VEGA, Appellant.

2006-02849.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Second Department.

Decided May 22, 2007.

Appeal by the defendant from an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Eng, J.), dated January 18, 2006, which, after a hearing, denied his motion to be resentenced pursuant to section 23 of Chapter 738 of the Laws of 2004.

Ordered that the order is affirmed.

The Drug Law Reform Act (L 2004, ch 738 [hereinafter the DLRA]) established a new sentencing structure for laws which had been enacted in 1973 and were commonly referred to as the Rockefeller Drug Laws (L 1973, ch 276, § 19). DLRA § 23 provides that "any person" in the custody of the Department of Correctional Services convicted of a class A-I felony drug offense and sentenced to an indeterminate term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years may apply to be resentenced in accordance with the provisions of Penal Law § 70.71 (see L 2004, ch 738, § 23). Under the statute, the court may: "consider any facts or circumstances relevant to the imposition of a new sentence which are submitted by such person or the people and may, in addition, consider the institutional record of confinement of such person ... Upon its review of the submissions and the findings of fact made in connection with the application, the court shall, unless substantial justice dictates that the application should be denied, in which event the court shall issue an order denying the application, specify and inform such person of the term of a determinate sentence of imprisonment it would impose upon such conviction" (L 2004, ...