People v Harrison
2012 NY Slip Op 03956 [95 AD3d 686]
May 22, 2012
Appellate Division, First Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, June 27, 2012


The People of the State of New York, Respondent,
v
Nathaniel Harrison, Appellant.

[*1] Steven Banks, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Lorraine Maddalo of counsel), for appellant.

Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Karinna M. Arroyo of counsel), for respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Ruth Pickholz, J.), entered on or about December 17, 2009, which adjudicated defendant a level two sexually violent offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act (Correction Law art 6-C), unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The record supports the assessment of points for defendant's history of drug abuse (see e.g. People v Wilkens, 33 AD3d 399 [2006], lv denied 8 NY3d 801 [2007]). In any event, regardless of whether defendant's correct point score is 95 or 80, there is no basis for a discretionary downward departure to level one (see People v Mingo, 12 NY3d 563, 568 n 2 [2009]; People v Johnson, 11 NY3d 416, 421 [2008]). The seriousness of the underlying crime outweighs the mitigating factors asserted by defendant, which were adequately taken into account by the risk assessment instrument (see e.g. People v Hansford, 67 AD3d 496 [2009]). Concur—Tom, J.P., Sweeny, Renwick, Freedman and Abdus-Salaam, JJ.