Court Decision: Sentence of 41 Years to Life Was Illegal & Reduced to 25 Years to Life

Appellate Division, Second Department: People v. Martinez

Sentence of 41 Years to Life Was Illegal & Reduced to 25 Years to Life

Sentencing court erred in directing that a sentence of 25 years to life run consecutive to a 16 years to life sentence.  The prosecution failed to meet their burden of establishing the legality of a consecutive sentence.  As a result of ordering the sentences to be served concurrently, the 41 years to life sentence was reduced to 25 years to life. Sentence Reduced.

Jonathan Schoepp-Wong represented Mr. Martinez