People v Williams
Attorneys and Parties
Brief Summary
Criminal law—duration of an order of protection under CPL 530.13(4) [sets the maximum duration of an order of protection issued upon conviction; for a felony, the greater of eight years from sentencing or eight years from the expiration of the prison term imposed].
Upon a guilty plea to robbery in the third degree, the Supreme Court, Kings County, imposed sentence and issued a final order of protection set to expire July 29, 2034.
Only the portion of the order of protection fixing its expiration date (July 29, 2034) was vacated; the conviction and sentence were otherwise affirmed.
The duration exceeded the statutory maximum under CPL 530.13(4). Although the issue was unpreserved under CPL 470.05(2) [preservation rule requiring a contemporaneous objection], the court reached it in the interest of justice and the People effectively conceded the error.
Background
Defendant Lechon Williams pleaded guilty to robbery in the third degree in Supreme Court, Kings County (Ind. No. 1961/20). At sentencing on June 29, 2023, the court issued a final order of protection with an expiration date of July 29, 2034. Williams appealed, challenging the order’s duration as exceeding the statutory maximum because the court failed to credit time served. The challenge to duration is reviewable on appeal and survives a valid appeal waiver.
Lower Court Decision
The Supreme Court accepted Williams’s guilty plea, imposed sentence, and issued an order of protection running until July 29, 2034. No objection to the order’s duration was raised at sentencing.
Appellate Division Reversal
The Appellate Division held that the order of protection’s duration exceeded CPL 530.13(4) and vacated so much of the order as set its expiration to July 29, 2034. The matter was remitted for a new determination of duration consistent with CPL 530.13(4). The order of protection remains in effect pending redetermination, and the judgment is otherwise affirmed.
Legal Significance
The decision reinforces that (1) appellate courts will review the duration of criminal orders of protection despite appeal waivers (see People v Nieves) and may correct unpreserved errors in the interest of justice; and (2) sentencing courts must calculate the maximum permissible duration of an order of protection in felony cases under CPL 530.13(4), which caps the order at the greater of eight years from sentencing or eight years from the expiration of the sentence imposed.
In felony cases, an order of protection issued at sentencing cannot run longer than CPL 530.13(4) allows; if it does, the duration portion will be vacated and remitted for recalculation, even where the defendant did not preserve the issue and waived the right to appeal.