The People of the State of New York v. Raymond E. Decker
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Attorneys and Parties
Brief Summary
Criminal law appeal involving whether convictions for criminal contempt in the second degree under Penal Law § 215.50 (3) [criminal contempt in the second degree] could stand alongside convictions for aggravated family offense under Penal Law § 240.75 (1) [aggravated family offense] when the contempt counts were charged as inclusory concurrent counts.
Cayuga County Court entered judgment on a jury verdict convicting defendant of six counts of aggravated family offense, six counts of criminal contempt in the second degree, and one count of criminal contempt in the first degree under Penal Law § 215.51 (c) [criminal contempt in the first degree].
The Appellate Division reversed the portions of the judgment convicting defendant of criminal contempt in the second degree under counts 8 through 11 and 13 and 14 of the indictment, and dismissed those counts.
The People conceded, and the court agreed, that the second-degree criminal contempt counts, as charged, were inclusory concurrent counts of the aggravated family offense counts and therefore could not separately stand.
Background
Defendant appealed from a Cayuga County Court judgment rendered on January 5, 2023, after a jury found him guilty of six counts of aggravated family offense, six counts of criminal contempt in the second degree, and one count of criminal contempt in the first degree.
Lower Court Decision
The lower court convicted defendant on all charged counts and entered judgment accordingly.
Appellate Division Reversal
The Appellate Division unanimously modified the judgment by reversing the convictions on the six second-degree criminal contempt counts and dismissing those counts of the indictment. The court otherwise affirmed the judgment, concluding that defendant's remaining appellate arguments did not warrant reversal or any further modification.
Legal Significance
The decision reinforces that, under New York law, a defendant may not be separately convicted of inclusory concurrent counts where the lesser counts are subsumed within the greater counts as charged. Here, the second-degree criminal contempt counts merged into the aggravated family offense counts and therefore had to be dismissed.
When criminal contempt in the second degree is charged in a way that makes it an inclusory concurrent count of aggravated family offense, the contempt convictions cannot stand separately and must be reversed and dismissed, even if the remaining convictions are affirmed.