PEOPLE v. TAYLOR (1997)

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Franklin County (Main, Jr., J.), rendered June 5, 1995, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of promoting prison contraband in the first degree.

Defendant, a State prison inmate, was found guilty after a prison disciplinary hearing of possessing a weapon.   Based on the same incident, he subsequently pleaded guilty to the crime of attempted promoting prison contraband in the first degree and was sentenced as a second felony offender to a prison term of 11/212 to 3 years to run consecutive to the sentence he was already serving.   On appeal, defendant claims that because he was previously disciplined administratively for the same act, the criminal prosecution was barred under the doctrine of double jeopardy.   This claim must be rejected.   Being punished for the same offense as the result of a prior prison disciplinary matter does not bar a subsequent criminal conviction based upon the same conduct (see, People v. Middleton, 221 A.D.2d 776, 633 N.Y.S.2d 676, lv. denied 88 N.Y.2d 968, 647 N.Y.S.2d 722, 670 N.E.2d 1354;  People v. Frye, 144 A.D.2d 714, 534 N.Y.S.2d 735, lv. denied 73 N.Y.2d 891, 538 N.Y.S.2d 804, 535 N.E.2d 1344).   We also find that this is not one of those “exceedingly rare circumstances where the disciplinary sanction imposed [was] grossly disproportionate to the interests of * * * government” to warrant barring the subsequent criminal prosecution for the same conduct (Matter of Cordero v. Lalor, 227 A.D.2d 848, 849, 642 N.Y.S.2d 399, 400).

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.

MIKOLL, Justice Presiding.

YESAWICH, PETERS and SPAIN, JJ., concur.