Case Name: The People of the State of New York, Appellant, v. Jason L., Respondent
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 2011-04-29
Citations: 83 A.D.3d 1560
Docket Number: 
Parties: The People of the State of New York, Appellant, v Jason L., Respondent.
Judges: 
Reporter: Appellate Division Reports
Volume: 83
Pages: 1560–1561

Head Matter:
The People of the State of New York, Appellant, v Jason L., Respondent.
[921 NYS2d 603]

Opinion:
Appeal from an adjudication of the Livingston County Court (Robert B. Wiggins, J.), rendered April 13, 2010. Defendant was adjudicated a youthful offender upon his plea of guilty to burglary in the first degree.
It is hereby ordered that said appeal is unanimously dismissed.
Memorandum: The People purport to appeal from a sentence imposing a term of incarceration upon defendant's plea of guilty of burglary in the first degree (Penal Law § 140.30 [2]), after County Court found that defendant was a youthful offender. The People contend that the court abused its discretion in granting defendant youthful offender status and that, as a result, the sentence imposed is invalid as a matter of law. We conclude that the appeal must be dismissed. "CPL 450.30 (2) authorizes the People to appeal from a sentence that is invalid as a matter of law" (People v Cosme, 80 NY2d 790, 792 [1992]), but that statute does not authorize the People to appeal from a youthful offender finding (see generally People v Calderon, 79 NY2d 61, 63-64, 67 [1992]). Indeed, upon finding that an individual is a youthful offender, "the court must direct that the conviction be deemed vacated and replaced by a youthful offender findingt,] and the court must sentence the defendant pursuant to section 60.02 of the penal law" (CPL 720.20 [3] [emphasis added]). "[T]he youthful offender finding and the youthful offender sentence imposed thereupon constitute a 'youthful offender adjudication' " (Calderon, 79 NY2d at 65). Here, the People do not allege that the sentence of incarceration of lVs to 4 years is illegal. Rather, "in the guise of challenging the sentence imposed, the People are in essence attacking the validity of the defendant's underlying [youthful offender finding,] . . . [which CPL 450.30 (2)] does not permit them to do" (Cosme, 80 NY2d at 792). Present—Scudder, P.J., Centra, Carni, Sconiers and Green, JJ.