People v. Ryan

134 Misc. 2d 343, 510 N.Y.S.2d 828, 1987 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2034
CourtNassau County District Court
DecidedJanuary 8, 1987
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 134 Misc. 2d 343 (People v. Ryan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nassau County District Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Ryan, 134 Misc. 2d 343, 510 N.Y.S.2d 828, 1987 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2034 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1987).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Ira H. Wexner, J.

Defendant Barry Ryan, one of the first persons in Nassau County to participate in the Electronic Home Detention Program as a condition of a sentence of probation, was charged [344]*344with violations of probation for failure to abide by the requirements of the program. The District Attorney alleged that two violations occurred on November 14, 1986 and one on November 18, 1986 during the early hours of the morning. The defendant made a motion to dismiss the charges.

After a hearing held pursuant to CPL 410.70, it was determined that defendant had violated probation. The sentence of probation was revoked and a sentence of incarceration was imposed in its stead.

Defendant was originally charged with committing grand larceny in the third degree, a violation of Penal Law § 155.30, a class E felony.

On September 11, 1986, defendant pleaded guilty to a violation of Penal Law §§ 110.00 and 155.25, attempted petit larceny, a class B misdemeanor.

Defendant was sentenced on October 23, 1986 to one-year probation and was directed to receive therapy and attend the Alliance Counseling Center for evaluation. The defendant consented that as a special condition of probation, he would take part in the Electronic Home Detention Program for 90 days.

The Electronic Home Detention Program (hereinafter referred to as EHDP) was initiated in Nassau County in September 1986 and Barry Ryan was one of the first defendants to be sentenced under it.

The EHDP was designed to be an alternative to incarceration for those deemed eligible to receive an alternative sentence. Basically, it is a monitoring system that informs the Probation Department whether the defendant is at home or not.

Included in the terms of defendant Ryan’s participation in the EHDP was the requirement that he be confined to an area within 100 feet of his home at all times for a 90-day period, with the exception of being allowed to leave his residence at designated times to go to his job, to attend therapy sessions and to appear for appointments with his probation officer. He could properly leave his home on weekdays at 6:35 a.m. On Thursday evenings, he had to return home by 8:45 p.m. and on the other four weeknights he had to come home by 7:30 p.m. On Saturdays, Ryan could leave home at 5:30 a.m. and was required to be home by 2:30 p.m. Ryan was not permitted to leave his home at any time on Sundays.

Testimony was offered at the violation of probation hearing [345]*345concerning the operation and mechanics of the EHDP. It is comprised of a computer controlled electronic signaling system that is intended to afford continuous monitoring of a defendant’s presence in or absence from his residence during the term of a probation sentence.

The monitoring mechanism consists of a battery-powered transmitter that is securely attached to the probationer’s ankle. It transmits a signal within a certain area. A receiver is installed in the probationer’s home, plugged into the AC current and is also battery backed-up. This unit receives a signal from the probationer’s transmitter. As long as the defendant is within the permitted radius of the receiver, the system is passive. If the probationer moves beyond that distance or the signal is blocked in any way, the receiver will make several attempts to obtain the signal.

In the event a signal is not received, then the receiver initiates a call from the probationer’s home over existing telephone lines to a computer located at the Nassau County Probation Department. The computer, also battery backed-up, then logs the date and exact time that the first signal was absent from the defendant’s transmitter. When the receiver obtains a signal from the transmitter indicating that the defendant is again within the permitted radius, another call is made to the Probation Department computer indicating the time that the signal resumed. This is meant to notify probation officers that the defendant has committed a violation.

The EHDP is designed so that on every occasion in which the defendant leaves the restricted area, in Ryan’s case, 100 feet, and each time he returns to it, the exact times of his movements are recorded by the computer on a printout sheet. The printout states "Valid” when the probationer’s entry into or exit from the restricted area is made during an authorized time. When entry into or departure from the restricted area is made at a time when defendant is required to remain at home, the computer printout states "Violation”.

Upon being sentenced to the EHDP, Ryan had a nonremovable electronic transmitter attached to his ankle to monitor his movements and a receiver was placed in his home.

A violation of probation hearing was held on December 10 and December 11, 1986. The defendant did not testify at the hearing.

Pursuant to People v Tyrrell (101 AD2d 946): "A hearing on a probation violation is a summary, informal procedure which [346]*346does not require strict adherence to the rules of evidence; statutory and due process requirements are met so long as defendant is given formal notice of the charges and an opportunity to be heard and to confront the witnesses against him through cross-examination” (CPL 410.70 [3]; People v Oskroba, 305 NY 113, 117; People v Compton, 42 AD2d 201; cf. People v Crandall, 51 AD2d 841).

Donald Richtberg, a probation officer training specialist and Nassau County Coordinator of the EHDP, testified as a witness for the People. He said that he traveled to West Palm Beach, Florida, in January and February 1986 and received four days of training and instruction from the manufacturer of the electronic home detention system. In August 1986, Mr. Richtberg met with a representative of the manufacturer for three days of additional training. Since August 1986, he has had daily experience with the equipment comprising the system. He testified that he knows how to install and operate the system and has received instruction in testing the system.

He explained that the system consists of a transmitter, monitor and computer. The actual transmitter and monitor used in connection with defendant Ryan’s probation were admitted in evidence.

Probation Officer Richtberg said that he monitors the operation of the EHDP and there were no indications of abnormalities in the functioning of the computer printouts on November 14 or November 18, 1986, the dates of the alleged violations.

Margaret Skelly, a probation officer with SV2 years’ experience and who is a probation supervisor, also testified as a prosecution witness.

She stated that shortly after Ryan was sentenced, she met with him at the probation office and they discussed the terms and conditions of defendant’s probation. Skelly stated that she read the conditions to Ryan, asked if he understood them and he answered affirmatively. In particular, they talked about the special condition of the Electronic Home Detention Program feature of defendant’s probation. Skelly stated that she reviewed the program with defendant and Ryan said he understood it.

Defendant signed a document, which was admitted in evidence, indicating that he understood the probation conditions and agreed to abide by them.

Probation Officer Skelly testified that the Probation Department computer registered violations of the EHDP by Ryan. [347]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
134 Misc. 2d 343, 510 N.Y.S.2d 828, 1987 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2034, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-ryan-nydistctnassau-1987.