Case ID: ad3d_151/html/1702-02.html
Source: Caselaw Access Project
Author: {"author": "", "license": "Public Domain", "url": "https://static.case.law/"}
Date Created: 2024-08-24T03:29:51.129683

The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Michael Maier, Appellant.
    [53 NYS3d 859]
   Appeal from an order of the Monroe County Court (James J. Piampiano, J.), entered January 19, 2016. The order determined that defendant is a level two risk pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act.

It is hereby ordered that the order so appealed from is unanimously affirmed without costs.

Memorandum: Defendant appeals from an order determining that he is a level two risk pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act (Correction Law § 168 et seq.). The Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders (Board) determined that defendant was a level one risk with a total risk factor score of 30, but it further determined that there were aggravating circumstances of a kind or to a degree not taken into account by the risk assessment guidelines, and the Board thus recommended an upward departure to a level two risk. Following a hearing, County Court recalculated defendant’s presumptive risk level by assigning points under risk factor 3 (three or more victims) and 7 (relationship between offender and victims, i.e., strangers), resulting in a total risk factor score of 80, which is a level two risk.

We reject defendant’s contention that the court erred in denying his request for a downward departure to a risk level one. Defendant failed to meet his initial burden of identifying and establishing mitigating factors that are not adequately taken into account by the risk assessment guidelines (see People v Cooper, 141 AD3d 710, 710-711 [2016], lv denied 28 NY3d 908 [2016]).

Present — Whalen, P.J., Centra, Lindley, Troutman and Scudder, JJ.