The Supreme Court modified a special condition of a man’s parole. The said condition forbade him from having any contact with his wife without the permission of his parole officer. A New York Criminal Lawyer said the modified order permitted the man to see his wife during non-curfew hours so long as the wife wished to see him.
On recent years, the man was released on parole subject to seventeen special conditions where he agreed to abide by a curfew established by his parole officer and agreed that he will not associate in any way or communicate by any means with his wife without the permission of the parole officer. While denying the man’s application to vacate the curfew and to allow him to live with his wife, the Supreme Court held that although the condition was not itself a violation of the man’s constitutional rights, it was subjective to deny the man’s visitation during non-curfew hours as long as the wife consented to it. In the ruling, the court noted the wife’s desire to see her husband. A New York Criminal Lawyer said the man’s rape conviction occurred before and none of his domestic violence related arrests resulted in convictions. The court finds that the Supreme Court improperly substituted its judgment for that of state division of parole.
Based on records, the imposition of a special condition is discretionary in nature and ordinarily beyond legal review as long as it is made in accordance with law and no positive legal requirement is violated. If the condition is rationally related to the inmate’s past conduct and future chances of recidivism, the Supreme Court has no authority to substitute its own preference for that of the individuals in charge of designing the terms of a man’s parole release. Further, because there is no federal or state constitutional right to be released to parole supervision before serving a full sentence, the state has responsibility to place restrictions on parole release.
Consequently, the courts respectfully disagree. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said the record provides no factual support for the accused party’s assertion that the special condition imposed as a condition to man’s release to parole, is necessary to protect the man’s wife from domestic violence. The record does not indicate the grounds for issuance of a temporary order of protection to the man’s current wife.
The special condition has no rational relationship to the crimes for which the man is currently subject to parole. The crime for which the man was most recently imprisoned with second degree criminal possession of a forged instrument is economic in nature and does not indicate that the man will pose any danger to his wife or child. The man’s previous conviction of first-degree rape was for a crime that, while terrible and of the utmost gravity, was committed when the man was 19 years old, against a stranger, not a spouse or domestic partner, and there is no evidence of the man having committed any sex offenses in the 27 years since that conviction. For such reason, the court finds no rational relationship between the conviction and forbidding the man from having any contact with a wife who wants to see him. The court notes the special value of the marital relationship to parolees like anyone else, as a source of emotional support and well-being. In that situation, there is no evidence that the man’s wife has a criminal record or would otherwise be a bad influence on him.
Accordingly, the court finds that the special condition is not rationally related to the crimes for which the man is subject to parole, or to the State’s objectives of reducing recidivism and protecting the public. Further, the court would confirm the order.
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