PEOPLE v. MCTERRELL (2020)

Mr. McTerrell, pro se, moves pursuant to CPL § 420.40 for a financial hardship hearing deferring the mandatary surcharge imposed upon his sentence to 12 years of incarceration plus 5 years post-release supervision, entered on or about June 25, 2015 (Firetog, J.), following his plea of guilty to Assault in the First Degree (PL § 120.10[1] ).¹ The People oppose the motion. For the reasons that follow, Mr. McTerrell's motion is denied.

Mr. McTerrell “has offered no credible and verifiable information establishing that the surcharge would work an unreasonable hardship on defendant over and above the ordinary hardship suffered by other indigent inmates” (People v Kistner, 291 AD2d 856 [4th Dept 2002], quoting People v Abdus-Samad, 274 AD2d 666, 667 [3d Dept 2000], lv denied 95 NY2d 862 [2000]; see CPL 420.40 [2]; see also People v Jones, 26 NY3d 730 [2016]; see generally People v Nater, 65 Misc 3d 927 [Sup Ct, Bronx County 2019, Lewis, J.]). Nonetheless, the Court notes that perhaps the legislature may wish to consider paying inmates a wage less consistent with that paid by plantation owners to their slaves, so as to enable them to pay such surcharges. Accordingly, Mr. McTerrell's motion is denied, without a hearing.

This constitutes the Decision and Order of the Court.

Defendant is advised of his right to apply to the Appellate Division, Second Department, 45 Monroe Place, Brooklyn, NY 11201 for a certificate granting leave to appeal from this determination. This application must be made within 30 days of service of this decision. Upon proof of your financial inability to retain counsel and to pay the costs and expenses of the appeal, you may apply to the Appellate Division for the assignment of counsel and for leave to prosecute the appeal as a poor person and to dispense with printing. Application for poor person relief will be entertained only if and when permission to appeal or a certification granting leave to appeal is granted.²

FOOTNOTES

1.   On or about March 27, 2017, the Court (Firetog, J.) denied Mr. McTerrell's first pro se pro forma motion requesting waiver or deferral of the mandatory surcharges imposed on him at the time of sentencing.

2.   22 NYCRR § 671.5.

Ruth Shillingford, J.