People v. Rodriguez, 16 N.Y.3d 667 (2011)
CPL 430.10 does not preclude an appellate court from remitting a case to the trial court for resentencing after determining that the original sentence included unlawful consecutive terms.
Summary
Defendant was convicted of multiple offenses, including attempted murder and assault, and received an aggregate sentence of 40 years with unlawful consecutive sentences for the attempted murder and assault convictions. The Appellate Division modified the judgment by directing concurrent sentences for those counts and remanding for resentencing, intending to allow the trial court to realign the remaining sentences consecutively if it chose. The Court of Appeals held that CPL 430.10 does not prevent an appellate court from remitting for resentencing, as CPL 470.20 grants broad authority to appellate courts to take corrective action. The Court emphasized that CPL 430.10 prohibits trial courts from changing lawful sentences, but not appellate courts from directing resentencing when the original sentence is flawed. The Court affirmed the Appellate Division order.
Facts
The defendant committed a particularly vicious attack and was convicted of: Attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, two counts of robbery in the first degree, and robbery in the second degree. The trial court imposed an aggregate sentence of 40 years, including consecutive sentences for the attempted murder (25 years) and first-degree assault (15 years) counts. Concurrent sentences were imposed for the robbery counts.
Procedural History
The People conceded on appeal that the consecutive sentences were illegal. The Appellate Division modified the trial court’s judgment, directing that the attempted murder and assault convictions run concurrently. The case was remanded to the trial court for resentencing to allow the trial court to consider whether to impose consecutive sentences on the remaining counts. The defendant appealed to the New York Court of Appeals, arguing the remand order violated CPL 430.10.
Issue(s)
Whether CPL 430.10 precludes the Appellate Division from remitting a case for resentencing after concluding that the trial court imposed unlawful consecutive sentences on two of the counts.
Holding
No, because CPL 430.10 does not limit the power of appellate courts to correct illegal sentences, and CPL 470.20 authorizes the appellate court to take corrective action upon modification of a sentence, including remitting the case for resentencing.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court of Appeals reasoned that CPL 430.10, which generally prohibits a court from changing a sentence once it has commenced, contains an exception for actions “specifically authorized by law.” The Court held that CPL 470.20 provides such authorization, granting intermediate appellate courts broad power to take corrective action when modifying a sentence. The court stated that CPL 470.20 states that an appellate court “must take or direct such corrective action as is necessary and appropriate both to rectify any injustice to the appellant resulting from the error or defect which is the subject of reversal or modification and to protect the rights of the respondent.” The court also noted that it had previously held in People v. LaSalle that an appellate court may “upon reversing or modifying a sentence, either . . . remit to the trial court for resentencing or . . . substitute its own legal sentence for the illegally imposed sentence.” The Court distinguished People v. Yannicelli, explaining that Yannicelli addressed a trial court’s actions on remand, not the appellate court’s power to direct resentencing. The Court clarified that CPL 430.10 does not bar an appellate court from directing resentencing on all counts where the sentence on fewer than all of the counts was flawed. The court emphasized that determining the proper resentence after the remand was within the trial court’s discretion, subject to judicial review if the resulting sentence’s legality was challenged. The court concluded that the Appellate Division had the authority to remit the matter to the trial court for resentencing because it found the original sentence to be illegal.