Court Opinion

ID: 9402102
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-06-15 13:06:41.051512+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:57.440705
License: Public Domain

State of New York                                             MEMORANDUM
Court of Appeals                                         This memorandum is uncorrected and subject to
                                                       revision before publication in the New York Reports.

 No. 72 SSM 3
 The People &c.,
         Respondent,
      v.
 Herman Anthony,
         Appellant.

 Submitted by Nancy E. Little, for appellant.
 Submitted by Rebecca Nealon, for respondent.

 MEMORANDUM:

       The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed, without costs.

       In 1988, defendant was convicted after trial of four counts of first-degree rape and

 four counts of first-degree sodomy, among other crimes, for raping or sexually assaulting

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five women in their homes at knifepoint during burglaries that occurred over the course of

a year. In anticipation of defendant’s conditional release from imprisonment in 2020, the

Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders assessed defendant 155 points on the risk assessment

instrument (RAI), presumptively designating him a level three sexually violent offender

for purposes of the Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA).

       Defendant did not dispute the accuracy of the Board’s point assessment, but he

requested that the court depart downward to risk level two. To that end, defendant argued

that he did not present a high risk of sexual reoffense, as evidenced by his positive

performance in sex offender treatment and educational programs while incarcerated

(including obtaining his general equivalency diploma and college-level education credits),

limited history of disciplinary infractions, age at time of release (51 years old), familial

support, and his scores on two alternative risk assessment instruments. Defendant also

asserted that he would be subject to supervision regardless of his risk designation as part

of the terms of his conditional release, and that a level three designation would make it

more difficult for him to locate housing.

       The People opposed the departure application, arguing that defendant’s

participation in treatment and programs merely constituted compliance with the programs

that “he should be doing” and was “largely . . . already taken into consideration” by the

RAI. The People further asserted that although age could be a mitigating factor in some

circumstances, defendant’s age did not indicate any physical inability to reoffend. The

People requested that in light of the “atrocious” and “serial” nature of defendant’s crimes,

the court adjudicate him a level three offender.

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       Supreme Court concluded that the People had established the bases for the RAI

points by clear and convincing evidence and adjudicated defendant a level three sexually

violent offender. With respect to defendant’s request for a downward departure, Supreme

Court recognized the importance of the risk level determination to defendant and noted that

it “spent a lot of time” considering his proffered arguments and evidence. The court

ultimately concluded, however, that defendant failed to show by “clear and convincing

evidence” that a departure was warranted; that the factors on which defendant relied were

“adequately taken into account by the [SORA] guidelines”; and that there was “clear and

convincing evidence” he should be designated a level three offender. The Appellate

Division affirmed (203 AD3d 1084 [2d Dept 2022]).

       A court considering a downward departure from the presumptive risk level indicated

by the RAI must first determine whether the mitigating circumstances alleged are “of a

kind or to a degree not adequately taken into account” by the risk assessment Guidelines,

and second, whether such circumstances have been proven by a preponderance of the

evidence (People v Gillotti, 23 NY3d 841, 861 [2014]; see Sex Offender Registration Act:

Risk Assessment Guidelines and Commentary at 4 [2006]). If the defendant meets this

burden of proof, the court must then “weigh[] the aggravating and mitigating factors to

determine whether the totality of the circumstances warrants a departure to avoid an over

. . . assessment of the defendant’s dangerousness and risk of sexual recidivism” (Gillotti,

23 NY3d at 861; see People v Knox, 12 NY3d 60, 70 [2009]).

       Defendant correctly notes that Supreme Court stated the incorrect standard of proof

applicable to his downward departure request. Defendant did not object to this error during

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the course of the SORA hearing, and in any event, the Appellate Division applied the

proper “preponderance of the evidence” standard to the downward departure request in

affirming Supreme Court’s order (Gillotti, 23 NY3d at 861).

       Defendant also asserts that Supreme Court erred in discounting his proffered

mitigation evidence on the ground that those factors had already been taken into account

by the RAI. The Appellate Division held that defendant “proved the existence of some

mitigating factors not adequately taken into account by the Guidelines,” and then

proceeded to weigh the aggravating and mitigating factors as required by Gillotti (203

AD3d at 1084-1085). Defendant contends it is unclear which mitigating factors the

Appellate Division found sufficiently established for purposes of the first and second

prongs of the Gillotti analysis and, relatedly, whether the Appellate Division disregarded

any of his proffered mitigation evidence on the ground that it was adequately accounted

for by the Guidelines.

       We do not read the Appellate Division order to hold that the Guidelines adequately

accounted for any of the mitigating factors identified by defendant. The Appellate Division

concluded that “defendant proved the existence of some mitigating factors not adequately

taken into account by the Guidelines,” but held that “[t]he totality of the circumstances,

including the cumulative effect of the factors relied upon by the defendant, did not show

that the presumptive risk level overassessed the defendant’s risk and danger of reoffense”

(203 AD3d at 1084-1085). We understand this language to mean that the Appellate

Division credited all of defendant’s proffered mitigating factors, but nonetheless concluded

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that a downward departure was not warranted.* Thus, we have no occasion on the record

presented here to reach the question of when evidence relevant to the assessment of points

for a particular risk factor—including an assessment of zero points—may also be

appropriately considered as mitigation warranting a downward departure.

      Given that the Appellate Division considered all of the circumstances proffered by

defendant in mitigation, the only question properly before us is whether defendant was

entitled to a downward departure as a matter of law. In light of the severity, number, and

circumstances of defendant’s violent sexual crimes—one of which occurred in the presence

of a victim’s child, whom defendant threatened to kill—the Appellate Division did not

abuse its discretion by concluding that defendant poses a high risk to public safety based

on the likelihood of or potential harm that could flow from reoffense (see People v

Sincerbeaux, 27 NY3d 683, 691 [2016]; Knox, 12 NY3d at 70).

*
  In finding that the Appellate Division declined to consider some mitigating evidence
because it was taken into account by the Guidelines, our dissenting colleagues unduly
emphasize the first sentence in the Appellate Division’s order to the exclusion of the
second. As explained above, we read the order differently, to reflect that the Appellate
Division (unlike the SORA court) considered all mitigating grounds, and concluded that a
departure was not warranted under Gillotti’s third prong given the totality of the
circumstances. We therefore do not reach the questions that the dissent addresses regarding
SORA’s risk assessment methodology, nor do we hold that the assessment of zero points
for a risk factor precludes consideration of that same subject matter as grounds for a
departure. Those issues are reserved for another potential case where they are squarely
presented.
                                           -5-
RIVERA, J. (dissenting):

      Under the Sex Offender Registration Act, Correction Law Article 6-C (“SORA”),

sentencing courts—based on the record and the presumptive risk level recommendation

from the Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders (the “Board”)—are responsible for

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assessing an offender’s risk level for registration and notification purposes. In People v

Gillotti, we set forth a three-step analytical framework for courts to follow in determining

whether to depart from the Board’s presumptive risk level recommendation (23 NY3d 841,

861 [2014]). We explained that when a defendant seeks a downward departure from that

presumptive level the SORA court must assess whether the mitigating factors the defendant

offers in support of a downward departure are “of a kind or to a degree not adequately

taken into account by the [SORA] Guidelines” (id.). The core issue this appeal presents is

whether and to what extent SORA and our precedents, including Gillotti, categorically

disqualify certain subject matter that the Guidelines consider in calculating an offender’s

risk level from consideration as a mitigating circumstance supporting a downward

departure. Contrary to the majority’s conclusion, that question is squarely presented in this

appeal.

       On the merits, the Appellate Division erroneously failed to consider in mitigation

all of defendant’s proposed factors because it concluded that some were adequately taken

into account by the Guidelines. However, the point allocation structure adopted in the

Guidelines considers the aggravating nature of a risk factor, and does not account for its

mitigating influence on an offender’s potential recidivism. This error infected the court’s

assessment of defendant’s risk level and warrants reconsideration of his request for a

downward departure.

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                                             I.

                                   THE GUIDELINES

       SORA tasked the Board with “develop[ing] guidelines and procedures to assess the

risk of a repeat offense by such sex offender and the threat posed to the public safety” and

provided an extensive list of factors upon which those guidelines must be based

(Correction Law § 168-l [5]). Though SORA did not necessarily require the RAI (or its

scoring method), the Board devised this assessment tool, explaining that “[t]he

[G]uidelines seek to capture both these elements—the probability of reoffense and the

harm therefrom” by adopting an “individualized approach” (Guidelines at 2). The Board

further explained that it “opted to create an objective assessment instrument” that assigns

numerical values to the risk factors (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 points, depending on which

factor), and calculates the offender’s “[presumptive] risk level combining risk of reoffense

and danger posed” by totaling up the points the offender scores in each category

(Guidelines at 3).1

       In other words, the RAI establishes a starting point based on the presence of certain

aggravating factors which, according to the Board, are positively correlated with both an

increased risk of reoffense (an empirical calculation) and public harm (a normative

judgment) (see Guidelines at 7-18). SORA sets out the duties and responsibilities for each

1
 Besides Factors 14 and 15, which relate to the offender’s release environment, which “are
prospective[,] . . . can readily change,” and which are therefore not weighed “as heavily as
others[,]” (Guidelines at 6), the Guidelines do not explain why some factors warrant more
points than others or how, if at all, these scoring ranges correlate to “the risk of a repeat
offense by such sex offender and the threat posed to the public safety”
(Correction Law § 168-l [5]).
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level of sex offender (see Correction Law §§ 168-f [b-1], [b-2], [b-3]; 168-h) but only the

Guidelines contain a taxonomy for assessing risk (see Guidelines at 3). A point total of 70

points or fewer results in a presumptive level 1 classification; a score between 70 and 110

points renders the offender a presumptive level 2; and a score of 110 points or more results

in a presumptive level 3 (Guidelines at 3).1

       Thus, a score of zero for a factor indicates the absence of the aggravators associated

with that factor. For example, “the Board or court may choose to score zero points” under

Factor 11—drug or alcohol abuse—when “the offender abused drugs and/or alcohol in the

distant past, but his more recent history is one of prolonger abstinence” (Guidelines at 15).

       The factor-specific point assessments are only the starting point. The Guidelines

also contain “overrides” which “automatically result in a presumptive risk assessment level

of 3.” The override applies if any of the following is part of the sex offender’s history: “(i)

prior felony conviction for a sex crime; (ii) the infliction of serious physical injury or the

causing of death; (iii) a recent threat to reoffend by committing a sexual or violent crime;

or (iv) a clinical assessment that the offender has a psychological, physical, or organic

abnormality that decreases his ability to control impulsive sexual behavior” (Guidelines at

3-4). The Board regards these factors “as overrides (rather than scoring them heavily)

because each provides compelling evidence that an offender poses a serious risk to public

safety” (Guidelines at 4).

2
 The Guidelines do not explain this lopsided distribution (i.e., why level 1 occupies 23%
of the scoring range, level 2 10%, and level 3 63%).
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       Finally, the Guidelines also provide for “departures” from the points-based

presumptive risk level if some unspecified “special circumstances warrant” and explain

that such departures are “premised on a recognition that an objective instrument, no matter

how well designed, will not fully capture the nuances of every case” (Guidelines at 4). At

the same time, the Board cautions, “if there was to be a departure in every case, the

objective instrument would be of little value” and thus, “the expectation is that the

instrument will result in the proper classification in most cases so that departures will be

the exception—not the rule” (Guidelines at 4). Before departing upward or downward, the

Board or court must conclude “that there exists an aggravating or mitigating factor of a

kind, or to a degree, that is otherwise not adequately taken into account by the [G]uidelines”

(Guidelines at 4).

       Courts must determine a sex offender’s designation and classification after

reviewing the Board’s recommendation, and may depart upward from that classification

based on clear and convincing evidence or downward based on a preponderance of the

evidence (see Gillotti, 23 NY3d at 861-862, 864). Courts may depart only when the RAI

either fails to cover a subject or does not do so “adequately” (Guidelines at 4). For example,

the Guidelines note that zero points are warranted under factor 2 if there was no sexual

contact regardless of whether the sex offender intended otherwise, but advise that “the

Board or court may choose an upward departure if it concludes that the lack of points in

this category results in an under-assessment of the offender’s actual risk to public safety”

(Guidelines at 9). The Guidelines provide three other illustrative examples of what the

Board and SORA courts may consider in determining whether a departure is warranted.

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The first is a “a physical condition that minimizes . . . risk of re-offense, such as advanced

age or debilitating illness” (Guidelines at 5). The second is where an offender has admitted

that they committed a prior sex offense, but was not convicted of that offense, in which

case an upward departure might be warranted on “clear and convincing evidence” that this

prior sex crime occurred (Guidelines at 6-7). The third is where an offender convicted as

an accomplice should normally be subject to the same scoring as a principal but may

receive a downward departure if that conviction “results in an over-assessment of the

offender's risk to public safety” (Guidelines at 7).

                                              II.

               DEFENDANT’S DOWNWARD DEPARTURE REQUEST

       Defendant was convicted and sentenced in connection with a series of burglaries

and rapes in 1988. In anticipation of his June 2020 release, the Board prepared a Risk

Assessment Instrument (“RAI”) recommending that defendant be adjudicated a level 3

sexually violent offender based on a score of 155 points, calculated by totaling points

assessed for various factors.2

       Defendant did not object to the Board’s points assessment but requested that the

SORA court depart down to risk level 2. Under that classification, given his particular

3
  The length of time during which offenders must register with law enforcement, frequency
with which they must register, and extent of personal information provided to the public
increases with each increase in the risk level designation—level 1, evidencing a low risk
of reoffense, level 2, a moderate risk, and level 3, a high risk. Offenders with the lowest
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circumstances, he would be relieved of his obligation to verify his address with law

enforcement every 90 days and have his photograph taken annually for the public database

(level 2 offenders need only have a new picture taken every 3 years) (see

Correction Law §§ 168-f [2] [b-2], [b-3]; 168-h [3]).

       Defendant identifies several factors supporting a downward departure. The first is

his commitment to self-improvement and the measures he took in prison to that end,

including participation in certain educational, vocational and therapeutic efforts as well as

his lack of disciplinary history. As an example, defendant noted that he took classes at City

University of New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where he earned a grade

point average of 3.675 and received commendations from his teachers. He also highlighted

his participation in a sex offender treatment program, where his counselors described him

as “engaged” not only “in the treatment process” but also “in the therapeutic community,”

first as head of the service crew and later an education leader, Assistant Community Leader,

and Community Leader. He was described as a “role model” for others in the program. As

further evidence of his exceptional rehabilitation, defendant also pointed out that, during

risk of reoffense—level 1 offenders—are relieved of the duty to register after 20 years
while level two and three offenders must register at least once annually for life (see
Correction Law §§ 168-h, 168-q). Similarly, as the offender’s risk level increases, law
enforcement provides more and more personal details about the offender to the public (see
generally Correction Law § 168-l [6]).

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his 32 years in prison, he had only been disciplined five times, the last of which had

occurred in 2003, approximately 17 years before the hearing.

        The second mitigating factor was his advanced age at the time of the hearing, which

places him at a lower risk of recidivism. Third is defendant’s successful completion of both

a two-year sex offender treatment program and a sex offender therapy program. Fourth is

his academic and vocational pursuits while in prison. Fifth is his strong family support,

which includes his mother and his sister (a nurse), both residents of New York City who

maintained frequent contact with defendant throughout his imprisonment and intended to

continue supporting him after his release. Sixth, defendant noted that a level 3 classification

would     subject    him     to   the    Sexual     Assault     Reform     Act     (“SARA”),

Executive Law § 259-c (14), which bars level 3 offenders from coming within 1000 feet of

a school. Imposition of this condition would have substantially delayed defendant’s release

from prison because his mother and sister resided in non-compliant homes in New York

City. He further pointed out that a level 2 adjudication would provide the same community

notification as a level 3, and that, while the latter would require him to report to the local

police every 90 days, he would remain on parole until 2037 which would subject him to

more stringent reporting requirements than a level 3 classification.

        Defendant also requested that the SORA court consider other modern instruments

for assessing his risk of reoffense. Specifically, defendant pointed to the “VRS:SO”

(Violence Risk Scale: Sexual Offense), which he characterized as a “valid and reliable”

alternate tool that clinicians use to assess the risk of sexual reoffense as well as to measure

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the efficacy of treatment.3 In his case, the VRS:SO showed that defendant had improved

during his treatment program and presented a “moderate-low” risk of sexual violence. He

directed the Court to the Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative

Sanctions (“COMPAS”)—an assessment tool used by the Department of Corrections and

Community Supervision (“DOCCS”)—which found that he was a low risk of felony

violence and criminal involvement.

      Defendant submitted documentary evidence in support of his application, including:

academic records and evaluations beginning with basic reading and math and ending with

his college courses; work and vocational evaluations and certificates; his monthly reports

from his sex offender treatment program; his prison disciplinary record; and certain data

from the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics evaluating the frequency of rape

offenses based upon age.

      Defendant additionally cited to several studies to support his contention that these

factors reduce his risk of recidivism (see e.g., Andrew A.J. Harris and R.K. Hanson, Sex

4
  The entity which devised the VRS:SO—Psynergy.Ca—describes itself as “a group of
psychologists who specialize in forensic risk assessment and the treatment of violence and
antisocial behaviours” and describes this risk assessment tool as a “theory based” one that
“uses static and dynamic variables to assess sexual offense risk and predict sexual
recidivism” (Psynergy.Ca, Violence Risk Scale Sexual Offense Version (VRS-SO),
https://psynergy.ca/vrs-so, [last accessed May 27, 2023]. Some courts have looked to
VRS:SO scores when evaluating orders under Mental Hygiene Law § 10.09 (d) (see e.g.
Matter of Akgun v State, 148 AD3d 1613, 1614 [4th Dept 2017] [noting that petitioner’s
high VRS:SO score suggested a high risk for sexual recidivism]; Matter of Wright v State,
New York State Off. of Mental Health, 134 AD3d 1483, 1487 [4th Dept 2015] [same];
Harry W. v State, 65 Misc 3d 1230(A) at *2 [Supreme Court, Oneida County 2019]
[same]).

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Offender Recidivism: A Simple Question, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Canada [2004] at 7 [study concluding that age “had a substantial association with

recidivism, with offenders older than age 50 at release reoffending at half the rate of the

younger (less than 50) offenders”]; P.A. Lanagan, E.L. Schmitt, and M.R. Durose,

Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison in 1994, U.S. Department of Justice,

Bureau of Justice Statistics, NCJ 198281 [2003] at 1, 25 [survey reporting that that only

3.3% of offenders who were 45 years or older reoffended within 3 years of release]; R.K.

Hanson, Age and Sexual Recidivism: A Comparison of Rapists and Child Molesters,

Department of the Solicitor General of Canada [2001] at 2, 12 [report finding that,

compared with other types of sex offenders, rapists’ risk of recidivism diminishes more

rapidly with increasing age]; First Report of the Collaborative Outcome Data Project of

the Effectiveness of Psychological Treatment for Sex Offenders, Sexual Abuse: A Journal

of Research and Treatment, Vol. 14, No. 2 [April 2002] at 169 [study concluding that such

programs had reduced participants’ recidivism rates]; Lois M. Davis, et al., Evaluating the

Effectiveness of Correctional Education: A Meta-Analysis of Programs that Provide

Education to Incarcerated Adults [2013] at xvi, 39, 57, available at https://www.rand.org/

pubs/research_reports/RR266.html [last accessed May 27, 2023] [RAND Corporation

analysis finding lower recidivism rates among prisoners who were educated in prison];

Mapping the Landscape of Higher Education in New York State Prison, The Prisoner

Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice [February 2019] at 6-7, available

at      https://justiceandopportunity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Mapping-the-City-

University-of-New-York_April-2020-web-ver.pdf [last accessed May 27, 2023] [study

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concluding DOCCS prisoners who attend college in New York prisons have a 50% lower

recidivism rate]; Jill S. Levenson and Andrea L. Horn, Sex Offender Residence

Restrictions: Unintended Consequences and Community Reentry, 9 Just Res and Policy 59,

62 [2007] [observing that “sex offenders who had a positive support system in their lives

had a significantly lower recidivism rate and fewer rule violations that those who had

negative or no support”]).

       During the SORA hearing, defense counsel summarized defendant’s application,

observing that he “ha[d] journeyed from . . . an illiterate 18-year-old to a person who [was

then] attending college in prison and [would] continue to attend . . . when released.” She

explained that defendant had completed sex offender treatment while maintaining a

“remarkable” disciplinary record that included only five disciplinary matters and pointed

out that he had no tickets for sexual misconduct. Defense counsel also noted that defendant

was 51 years old, had family support, and achieved moderate to low offense scores on the

VRS:SO and COMPAS assessment tools.

       The prosecution responded that defendant’s completion of the sex offender

treatment program was obligatory and that he would have been assessed additional points

under the RAI had he failed to do so, meaning that the Guidelines already accounted for

this. Regarding defendant’s age, the prosecutor contended that he was “simply older” than

when he went to prison and that age would only become a factor if he had become

“decrepit” to the point of being physically unable to commit additional sex offenses. The

prosecutor further asserted that defendant had “destroyed lives” and expressed his belief

that there was no “sort of mitigating circumstance” that “would make good what

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[defendant] did” and that, to commit the offenses defendant had committed, one would

“need to be a certain level . . . of sociopath.”

       Defense counsel reminded the court that defendant had participated in other

programs in addition to those required of him, for which the RAI did not account. She

further contended that defendant did not have to reach a “decrepit” state before the court

could consider his age as a mitigating factor and noted that, according to the empirical

studies the defense submitted, there was an inverse relationship between age and the risk

of reoffense. Finally, defense counsel reminded the court that its responsibility was not to

punish, but to determine defendant’s risk of sexual reoffense. She further emphasized that

defendant was a “changed person” who did not pose such a high risk.

       In an oral ruling, the SORA court assessed 155 points based on the RAI. The court

denied defendant’s request for a downward departure, finding that a “departure was not

proper under the guidelines because these factors have been adequately taken into account

by the guidelines already” and that no “clear and convincing evidence” supported a

departure. Accordingly, the court adjudicated defendant a level 3 risk and designated him

a sexually violent offender.

       The Appellate Division affirmed the SORA court’s determination, reasoning that

the court did not improvidently deny the downward departure under the Gillotti framework

(People v Anthony, 203 AD3d 1084 [2d Dept 2022]). According to the Appellate Division,

although “defendant proved the existence of some mitigating factors not adequately taken

into account by the Guidelines, . . . the totality of the circumstances, including the

cumulative effect of the factors relied upon by the defendant, did not show that the

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presumptive risk level overassessed [his] risk and danger of reoffense” (id. at 1084-1085).

We granted defendant leave to appeal (38 NY3d 1125).4

                                             III.

                      DEFENDANT’S APPEAL TO THIS COURT

       As a threshold matter, on the record before us we may resolve the issue disputed by

the parties—whether the Guidelines focus on the presence of an aggravating risk factor and

thus do not adequately account for positive outcomes associated with the same factor

category. Defendant presented his arguments to the courts below thus preserving the issue,

and both courts failed to consider the mitigation aspects of all the factors he relied on.

       This failure to recognize the distinction between aggravating and mitigating factors

has led to conflicting positions in the lower courts. For example, at times, some courts

have treated close family support as a mitigating factor, not adequately accounted for by

the Guidelines, that reduces the likelihood of sexual reoffense (see e.g. People v Davis, 179

AD3d 183, 188 [2d Dept 2019] [treating “strong family support” as a mitigating factor

justifying downward modification to Level 1]; People v Tineo-Morales, 101 AD3d 839,

5
  Defendant contends that this case presents the question of when, under Gillotti,
“established mitigating factors [are] ‘of a kind or to a degree, that is otherwise not
adequately taken into account by the Guidelines’ ” (quoting 23 NY3d at 861) and objects
to the Court’s placement of his appeal on our alternative review track (see Rules of Ct of
Appeals [22 NYCRR] § 500.11[b] ). As I have previously stated, once a majority of the
Court votes to maintain the appeal on this track, notwithstanding a party’s objection, we
must consider the issues in the posture presented (see People v Rodriguez, 33 NY3d 956,
958 n 1 [2019] [Rivera, J., dissenting]).

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840 [2d Dept 2012] [considering defendant’s close family ties when approving downward

departure]; see also People v Vasquez, 38 Misc3d 408, 417-418 [Sup Ct, New York County

2012] [noting that “stable and supportive environment” leads to greater likelihood of

successful rehabilitation and reintegration into the community); People v Witchley, 9

Misc3d 556, 557 [Sup Ct, Madison County 2005] [offender’s risk of reoffense lowered by

“stable living situation”]).

       Other courts have concluded the opposite. Indeed, the Second Department, which

affirmed the SORA determination here, seems to be at odds with itself on the subject of

family support (compare Davis, 179 AD3d at 188, and Tineo-Morales, 101 AD3d at 840,

with People v Saunders, 209 AD3d 776, 778 [2d Dept 2022] [“Most of the alleged

mitigating circumstances identified by the defendant, including his . . . access to a

supportive family upon release, are adequately taken into account by the Guidelines”];

People v Barrott, 199 AD3d 1029, 1030 [2d Dept 2021] [noting that “the alleged mitigating

factors consisting of the defendant’s supportive family . . . were adequately taken into

account by the Guidelines”]); People v Fuhrtz, 180 AD3d 944, 947 [2d Dept 2020] [same]).

       As another example, the First and Second Departments have broadly recognized

that an individual’s “[r]ehabilitation on the basis of the totality of the record is a mitigating

factor that is not taken into account by the Guidelines or the RAI” (People v Madison, 98

AD3d 573, 574 [2d Dept 2012); see also People v Santogual, 157 AD3d 737, 738 [2d Dept

2018] [“Rehabilitation as evidenced by the totality of the record may, under some

circumstances, constitute a proper mitigating factor for a downward departure”]; People v

Washington, 84 AD3d 910, 911 [2d Dept 2011] [concluding that the RAI did not

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adequately account for the defendant’s participation in sex offender treatment while in

prison]; People v Williams, 148 AD3d 540, 543 [1st Dept 2017] [identifying “remarkable

rehabilitation” as “the sort of special circumstance( ) for which a downward departure is

appropriate,” where the defendant supports their application for a downward departure

“with a number of exhibits”] [internal quotation marks omitted]).

       Rather than resolve the confusion, the majority elides the issue based exclusively

on its misinterpretation of the Appellate Division’s comment that “[t]he totality of the

circumstances, including the cumulative effect of the factors relied upon by the defendant,

did not show that the presumptive risk level overassessed the defendant’s risk and danger

of reoffense” (203 AD3d at 1085). According to the majority, this sentence must mean that

“the Appellate Division credited all of defendant’s proffered mitigating factors, but

nonetheless concluded that a downward departure was not warranted” (majority mem at 4-

5). However, the majority ignores that immediately preceding its “totality of the

circumstances” conclusion, the Appellate Division held that “the defendant proved the

existence of some mitigating factors not adequately taken into account by the Guidelines”

(203 AD3d at 1084 [emphasis added]). The obvious import of this sentence is that the

Appellate Division concluded that the Guidelines already accounted for some of

defendant’s mitigating factors (see id.). Thus, reading both sentences together, the only

logical conclusion is that Appellate Division first determined that some—but not all—of

the factors identified by defendant were not accounted for and then, based on those factors,

the “totality of the circumstances” did not support a downward departure (203 AD3d at

1084-1085). If defendant is correct that the Guidelines do not differentiate between the lack

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of an aggravating factor and the presence of a mitigating factor and that intermediate

appellate courts are wrongly equating the absence of a risk factor with the presence of a

mitigating factor, then the Appellate Division erred in failing to recognize this structural

distinction leading it to consider some but not all of the factors presented by defendant in

support of his downward departure.

       There is no obstacle to resolving the overarching legal question of whether the

Guidelines adequately account for mitigating circumstances or measure only aggravating

factors. I now turn to the merits of defendant’s challenge.5

                                             IV.

    THE GUIDELINES ASSESS AGGRAVATING, NOT MITIGATING FACTORS

       We review the SORA court’s denial of defendant’s downward departure application

for abuse of discretion (see People v Sincerbeaux, 27 NY3d 683, 689 [2016]). I agree with

defendant that the Guidelines structure focuses on whether there are aggravating factors

that increase the risk of an offender’s sexual recidivism. As I explain, the Guidelines work

in one direction, upwardly graduating an offender’s risk level based on increases in points

within specific factor categories, but never working downward based on positive,

6
  Defendant has not presented a statutory or state constitutional challenge to the validity of
the Guidelines, which were created in 1996 and whose 2006 “revisions [did] not change
the scoring of the instrument but, rather simply include[d] updated statutory language and
clarification” (Guidelines at 1). Therefore, I have no occasion to address those issues.
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                                             - 17 -                                 SSM No. 3

rehabilitative behavior. The Appellate Division thus abused its discretion by failing to

recognize and apply this distinction to defendant’s upward departure request.

                                              A.

       The analysis begins with our case law and the Board’s structural approach. First,

nothing in Gillotti or the Guidelines prohibits a SORA court’s consideration of arguments

and evidence that a defendant presents as a mitigating factor supporting a downward

departure simply on the ground that the Guidelines cover the same subject matter (23 NY3d

at 861). From this incidental overlap, it does not necessarily follow that the Guidelines

“adequately” account for the subject matter (id.). Put another way, the Guidelines do not

necessarily account for a defendant’s risk-reducing conduct or external factors but rather

document the existence of a risk enhancement condition. Proper assessment of a

defendant’s risk to reoffend—the ultimate goal of the risk assessment process—requires

evenhanded consideration of both aggravating and mitigating evidence. By affirming the

lower courts’ reference to the former as a basis for disqualifying the latter here, the majority

leaves in place a one-way ratchet for SORA risk assessments in contravention of both

SORA and our construction of that statute in Gillotti.

       Second, the Guidelines address recidivism in broad strokes, utilizing vague and

conclusory terms. For example, Factor 13 requires the Board to determine whether

defendant’s conduct while imprisoned was “unsatisfactory” (Guidelines at 16). Similarly,

Factor 15 requires it to assess whether defendant’s release environment is “inappropriate”

(id. at 18). These factors are aggravators that, when totaled, may raise the defendant’s

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presumptive risk level, purportedly on the ground that their presence increases the

defendant’s risk of reoffense (see People v Perez, 35 NY3d 85, 88 [2020]). The Guidelines

contemplate departures from this presumptive level predicated on “a recognition that an

objective instrument, no matter how well designed, will not fully capture the nuances of

every case[,]” but they also caution that the overuse of departures would defeat the purpose

of the Guidelines themselves (Guidelines at 4; see also Perez, 35 NY3d at 88). Notably,

however, the Guidelines suggest no analytical framework for assessing the appropriateness

of a departure. Gillotti aimed to fill this gap by, as relevant here, requiring that defendants

seeking a downward departure first proffer mitigating factors that “are of a kind, or to a

degree, not adequately taken into account by the guidelines” (23 NY3d at 861). This

phraseology merely tracks that of the Guidelines themselves (compare id., with Guidelines

at 4). Gillotti therefore did not expound on when the Guidelines “adequately” account for

the defendant’s mitigating factors and the sweep of this term is therefore the central issue

on this appeal (23 NY3d at 861).

       Third, even if the Guidelines consider each respective factor’s subject matter when

considering the presence of aggravators, Gillotti does not compel that same subject matter’s

disqualification from consideration in a mitigation analysis conducted as part of a

downward-departure application. At an abstract level, the absence of some characteristic,

attribute, or event necessary to trigger one consequence does not foreclose the possibility

that its presence may trigger another. For example, the presence of family support upon

release that would result in zero points assessed under Factor 15, does not logically imply

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that a more robust than typical family support structure would not reduce an offender’s

risk, thereby disqualifying it as mitigation supporting a downward departure.

       This is consistent with SORA’s overall purpose to accurately assess a defendant’s

risk of reoffense (see People v Mingo, 12 NY3d 563, 567-568 [2009]), and tailor the risk

level appropriately (see People v Francis, 30 NY3d 737, 742-744 [2018]). The Guidelines

Commentary provides that the Guidelines were based on “a careful reading of” SORA

which requires that the Guidelines “eschew per se rules” in order to promote an

“individualized” risk assessment (Guidelines at 2). In accordance with this same purpose,

Gillotti’s framework for evaluating upward- and downward-departure applications was

driven by an objective “to avoid an over- or under-assessment of the defendant's

dangerousness and risk of sexual recidivism” (23 NY3d at 861).

       The prosecution interprets the first step of Gillotti to mean that “a score of zero” in

an RAI risk category “operates to the defendant’s benefit” so that “the absence of that factor

should not be counted again as a reason for departure.” For example, the prosecution

contends, a defendant who avoids disciplinary action in prison is assessed zero points under

Factor 13 and a court considering a downward departure application should therefore not

consider an exemplary disciplinary record as part of its analysis. However, this

interpretation of the RAI’s assessment of the Guidelines’ factors and Gillotti is inconsistent

with SORA’s overall purpose, which is “to assess the risk that a sex offender will reoffend

and the likely harm that would be inflicted upon the reoffense” (Perez, 35 NY3d at 87).

The SORA risk assessment methodology the prosecution argues is required by Gillotti—

the methodology the majority now upholds—yields an inaccurate picture of this risk by

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overassessing aggravators and underassessing mitigators. The legislature could not have

intended such a reading of its SORA regime, nor could the Board have intended a

construction of the Guidelines that effectively would render the entire enterprise of risk

assessment “meaningless and useless” (Ivey v State, 80 NY2d 474, 481 [1992]).

       This reading of Gillotti also misunderstands concepts of risk assessment and risk

management generally. To take a topical example, under certain regulations passed

pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act passed in the wake of the 2008 global financial meltdown,

the Federal Reserve reviews annual supervisory stress tests of the nation’s largest banks

and, as part of systemic risk management, sets minimum capital requirements for each

large bank (see 12 CFR 225.8 [f], 238.170 [f]; see e.g. Board of Governors of the Federal

Reserve System, Large Bank Capital Requirements [Aug 2022], available at

https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/large-bank-capital-requirements-

20220804.pdf [last accessed May 27, 2023]). And, of course, in measuring systemic risk,

the Fed accounts, not just for past and projected losses—which aggravate systemic risk—

but past and projected gains—which mitigate such risk (see Board of Governors of the

Federal Reserve System, 2022 Supervisory Stress Test Methodology [March 2022],

available   at   https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2022supervisory-stress-test-

methodology-overview-modeling-framework.htm [last accessed May 27, 2023]). This

approach provides regulators with a full picture of risks the bank poses to the financial

system and is crucial to maintaining a functioning, balanced system of credit. A stress test

that overassessed gains and resulted in lower capital requirements would increase the risk

of large bank failures that could result in a financial panic; on the flip side, a test that

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overassessed losses would result in higher capital requirements that would restrict credit

availability, which would increase the risk of recession (see generally Pablo D’Erasmo,

Are Higher Capital Requirements Worth It?, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia [Q2

2018],      available     at   https://www.philadelphiafed.org//media/frbp/assets/economy/

articles/economic-insights/2018/q2/eiq218-capital_requirements.pdf [last accessed May

27, 2023]).

          Finally, this conception of Gillotti comes at a tremendous cost to offenders seeking

reintegration into society following release. “Unquestionably, SORA imposes significant

burdens on a registrant, regardless of risk level” (People v Gravino, 14 NY3d 546, 556

[2010])     but   those    burdens   increase    with   the   offender’s   risk   level   (see

Correction Law §§ 168-1 [6]). The Court has held “that the entire SORA statutory scheme

is designed to have a remedial and non-penal effect” and that its registration and

notification requirements do not amount to punishment (People v Buyund, 37 NY3d 532,

540, 541 n 5 [2021]). The prosecution’s approach to sex offender risk assessment, adopted

by the courts below, frustrates whatever remedial ends SORA serves.

                                                B.

         Here, Supreme Court erred in rejecting defendant’s proffered mitigating

circumstances as “adequately taken into account by the [G]uidelines” under Factors 13 and

15. Defendant’s lack of disciplinary infractions since 2003 that earned him zero points

under Factor 13 should not have disqualified his other numerous achievements in prison

from consideration in the downward-departure analysis. Nor should the fact that he had

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support structure upon release—which earned him zero points under Factor 15—have

disqualified the strength of that support structure from consideration in the SORA court’s

downward-departure analysis.

      Defendant also argued to the SORA court and the Appellate Division that his

post-release supervision provided some forms of supervision more stringent than those

required of him as a level 3 offender. For example, he contended, a level 2 designation

would have required him to provide the same community notification as a level 3

designation and, although level 2 offenders need only report once per year while level 3

offenders must do so every 90 days, the reporting requirement is inconsequential for him,

given that he will be on parole until 2037 and will be required to report more frequently

than every 90 days until that time anyway (see Correction Law § 168-f). The only

additional restriction a level 3 designation imposes would be the Sexual Assault Reform

Act’s (“SARA”) prohibition against entering within 1000 feet of the many places in New

York City where children are likely to congregate and, given the lack of SARA-compliant

housing in New York City, he would likely remain in prison beyond his release date (see

Executive Law § 259-c [14]; People ex rel. Johnson v Supt., Adirondack Correctional

Facility, 36 NY3d 187 [2020]).

      The SORA court failed to consider defendant’s actual supervision environment

because such is “not adequately taken into account by the [G]uidelines” (Gillotti, 24 NY3d

at 861). Although the Guidelines instruct that defendants are assessed points under factor

14 based on whether, upon release, they will “be supervised by a . . . parole officer who

oversees a sex offender caseload or who otherwise specialized in the management of such

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offenders[,]” the Guidelines do not mention the impact of parole on SORA’s differing

reporting requirements for different levels of offenders (Guidelines at 17). Nor do the

Guidelines at all address the impact of SARA on level 3 offenders.

                                              V.

                                       CONCLUSION

       The ostensible purpose of SORA determinations is to accurately assess risk to

ensure public safety. Pursuant to its statutory authority, the Board established a rigid rubric

of aggravating factors. But, as the Board recognizes, “an objective instrument, no matter

how well designed, will not fully capture the nuances of every case” (Guidelines at 4). Put

simply, under the Guidelines structure, the absence of an aggravating factor is not

tantamount to the presence of a mitigating factor for which the Guidelines already account.

The SORA court here treated these as equivalent and I would therefore reverse the

Appellate Division’s order and remit to Supreme Court for a proper risk assessment that

includes fair consideration of defendant’s mitigating evidence.

On review of submissions pursuant to section 500.11 of the Rules, order affirmed,
without costs, in a memorandum. Judges Garcia, Singas, Cannataro, Troutman and
Halligan concur. Judge Rivera dissents in an opinion, in which Chief Judge Wilson
concurs.

Decided June 15, 2023

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