People v Palmer
2012 NY Slip Op 00193 [91 AD3d 618]
January 10, 2012
Appellate Division, Second Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, February 29, 2012


The People of the State of New York, Respondent,
v
Bobby Palmer, Appellant.

[*1] Arza Feldman, Uniondale, N.Y. (Steven A. Feldman of counsel), for appellant.

Thomas J. Spota, District Attorney, Riverhead, N.Y. (Michael J. Brennan of counsel), for respondent.

Appeal by the defendant from an order of the County Court, Suffolk County (Kahn, J.), dated March 23, 2010, which, after a hearing, designated him a level three sexually violent offender pursuant to Correction Law article 6-C.

Ordered that the order is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.

The People established, by clear and convincing evidence, that the defendant had previously been convicted of a felony sex crime. Therefore, he was presumptively a level three sexually violent offender pursuant to an automatic override addressing prior felony convictions for sex crimes, irrespective of the points scored on the risk assessment instrument (see Sex Offender Registration Act: Risk Assessment Guidelines and Commentary, at 3-4 [2006]; People v Carter, 85 AD3d 995 [2011]; People v Guitard, 57 AD3d 751, 752 [2008]). In any event, contrary to the defendant's contention, he was properly assessed 15 points in the risk assessment instrument under the risk factor for history of drug or alcohol abuse, in light of his criminal history and the information contained in the presentence investigation report and case summary (see People v Abrams, 76 AD3d 1058 [2010]).

Furthermore, the County Court properly determined that the defendant was not entitled to a downward departure from his presumptive risk level assessment (see People v Abreu, 89 AD3d 711 [2011]; People v Livingston, 87 AD3d 628 [2011]). Accordingly, the defendant was properly designated a level three sexually violent offender. Mastro, A.P.J., Florio, Balkin and Chambers, JJ., concur.