People v. Larkin
Attorneys and Parties
Brief Summary
Criminal law—probation conditions; appellate waivers; order of protection (OOP) duration.
Accepted a guilty plea to assault in the third degree and imposed probation with a standard Condition No. 14 requiring the defendant to support dependents and meet other family responsibilities, along with a five-year OOP.
Condition No. 14 of probation was deleted; the judgment was otherwise affirmed.
The condition was not individually tailored to the offense and was not reasonably related to rehabilitation or necessary to ensure a law-abiding life, consistent with People v Sobers; the People conceded the point.
Background
Defendant pleaded guilty to assault in the third degree in Supreme Court, Kings County, and received a probationary sentence that included Condition No. 14 (support dependents/meet family responsibilities) and a five-year order of protection (OOP). On appeal, she challenged the validity of her appeal waiver, the excessiveness of the sentence, the five-year OOP, and Condition No. 14.
Lower Court Decision
On April 21, 2023, the Supreme Court, Kings County (Justice John T. Hecht) convicted the defendant upon her guilty plea and imposed a term of probation that included Condition No. 14 and a five-year OOP.
Appellate Division Reversal
The court held the appeal waiver valid, which precluded review of the excessiveness of the sentence. The challenge to the five-year OOP survived the waiver but was unpreserved and, in any event, meritless. The challenge to Condition No. 14 was not barred by the waiver and did not require preservation; relying on People v Sobers, the court deleted Condition No. 14 and otherwise affirmed the judgment.
Legal Significance
Reaffirms that generic, boilerplate probation conditions must be individually tailored to the offense and the defendant to be valid, and such challenges can survive an appeal waiver and do not require preservation. Also clarifies that a valid appeal waiver forecloses excessiveness-of-sentence review, while certain collateral issues (e.g., OOP duration) may survive but still require preservation.
An appeal waiver does not bar appellate review of non-individualized probation conditions; courts will strike such conditions unless tailored to rehabilitation needs, while excessive sentence claims remain foreclosed by a valid waiver and OOP challenges must be preserved.