Case Name: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Michael Bethea, Appellant
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 2016-12-07
Citations: 145 A.D.3d 738
Docket Number: 
Parties: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Michael Bethea, Appellant.
Judges: Dillon, J.P., Dickerson, Hinds-Radix and Maltese, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Appellate Division Reports
Volume: 145
Pages: 738–738

Head Matter:
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Michael Bethea, Appellant.
[41 NYS3d 899]

Opinion:
Appeal by the defendant from an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Dowling, J.), dated September 24, 2014, which, after a hearing, denied his motion to be resentenced pursuant to CPL 440.46 on his conviction of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, which sentence was originally imposed, upon a jury verdict, on October 5, 2004.
Ordered that the order is affirmed.
A defendant who is eligible for resentencing pursuant to CPL 440.46 enjoys a statutory presumption in favor of resentencing (see People v Duke, 132 AD3d 893 [2015]; People v Brown, 115 AD3d 155, 156-157 [2014] aff'd 25 NY3d 247 [2015]; People v Beasley, 47 AD3d 639, 641 [2008]). However, resentencing is not automatic, and the determination is left to the discretion of the Supreme Court (see People v Duke, 132 AD3d 893 [2015]; People v Karim, 85 AD3d 943, 944 [2011]; People v Beasley, 47 AD3d at 641).
Here, in light of the defendant's extensive and continuous criminal history, which includes a conviction of manslaughter in the first degree, his lackluster institutional disciplinary record, and his arrest for criminal possession of a weapon while on parole, the Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in denying his motion for resentencing pursuant to CPL 440.46 (see People v Duke, 132 AD3d 893 [2015]; People v Peterson, 88 AD3d 1026, 1027 [2011]; People v Overton, 86 AD3d 4, 16 [2011]; People v Karim, 85 AD3d at 944).
Dillon, J.P., Dickerson, Hinds-Radix and Maltese, JJ., concur.