People v Hollman
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Attorneys and Parties
Brief Summary
Criminal law; whether the evidence supported convictions for kidnapping in the second degree under Penal Law § 135.20 [person is guilty when he or she abducts another person] and endangering the welfare of a child under Penal Law § 260.10 (1) [knowingly acting in a manner likely to be injurious to the physical, mental or moral welfare of a child less than 17 years old], and whether the grandmother-relative affirmative defense under Penal Law § 135.30 [affirmative defense where defendant is a relative and sole purpose was to assume control of the abducted person] applied.
County Court, after a joint jury trial with the child's mother, convicted defendant of kidnapping in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child and sentenced her to five years in prison plus 2½ years of postrelease supervision on the kidnapping count, with a lesser concurrent jail term on the child-endangerment count.
Nothing was overturned; the Appellate Division affirmed the judgment in full.
The majority held that legally sufficient evidence and the weight of the evidence supported both convictions, the jury reasonably rejected defendant's affirmative defense because it could find that she acted for more than the sole purpose of assuming control of the child, New York territorial jurisdiction was established, and defendant's ineffective-assistance and grand-jury claims lacked merit.
Background
Defendant, the child's grandmother, and the child's mother took the toddler from New York and remained hidden for months until they were found in Washington State. The child was kept from her father without his knowledge or consent. Trial evidence showed that defendant and the codefendant used burner phones, withdrew large amounts of cash, and paid for hotels in cash to avoid detection. Defendant argued that, as a relative, she acted only to assume control of the child, based in part on claimed beliefs that the father was dangerous and that the child needed protection.
Lower Court Decision
The County Court of Sullivan County entered judgment on September 30, 2022 after a jury found defendant guilty of kidnapping in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child. The court imposed a five-year prison sentence followed by 2½ years of postrelease supervision for kidnapping, together with a concurrent lesser jail sentence for child endangerment.
Appellate Division Reversal
There was no reversal. The Appellate Division affirmed. It held that the evidence proved abduction through unlawful restraint and secreting the child in a place where she was not likely to be found under Penal Law § 135.00 (2) (a) [abduct means to restrain a person with intent to prevent liberation by secreting or holding that person in a place where he or she is not likely to be found] and Penal Law § 135.00 (1) (b) [child under 16 is restrained without consent if the parent or lawful custodian has not acquiesced]. Although the child's mother participated, the court concluded that her conduct could be treated as inconsistent with lawful custody under People v Leonard. The court also held that the jury permissibly rejected the Penal Law § 135.30 affirmative defense because the evidence supported an inference that defendant was motivated at least in part by retribution against the father, not solely by a desire to assume control of the child. Territorial jurisdiction existed under CPL 20.20 (1) (a) and (c) [New York has jurisdiction where conduct or an element occurs in the state, or where conspiracy to commit the offense occurs in the state], and the ineffective-assistance arguments failed because a jurisdiction objection or instruction would likely have been unsuccessful. Justice Powers, joined by Justice Mackey, dissented and would have reversed the kidnapping conviction on weight-of-the-evidence grounds, concluding that defendant proved the relative affirmative defense by a preponderance of the evidence.
Legal Significance
The decision reinforces that a relative's affirmative defense to kidnapping under Penal Law § 135.30 is narrow: the defendant must show that the sole purpose of the taking was to assume control, and the defense fails if the factfinder can reasonably infer mixed motives such as punishment, retribution, or terrorization of another custodian. The case also confirms that a custodial parent's apparent acquiescence does not necessarily defeat kidnapping liability where the parent's conduct is so harmful that it is inconsistent with lawful custody, and that New York may exercise territorial jurisdiction when the criminal plan or an element of the crime originates in New York even if the child is later taken out of state.
A grandmother who helps hide a child out of state can be convicted of kidnapping and child endangerment despite claiming protective motives, where the evidence shows concealment, lack of the father's consent, and grounds for the jury to find that her purpose was not solely to assume lawful control of the child.