People v. Naranjo

In People v. Naranjo (89 NY2d 1047), the Court said "generally, as a matter of due process, an offender may not be sentenced on the basis of 'materially untrue' assumptions or 'misinformation' " but "rather ... 'the sentencing court must assure itself that the information ... is reliable and accurate' ." The Court went on to state that if a court considers information for sentencing based on "pure speculation" then the "imposition of defendant's sentence was improper." ( People v. Naranjo, supra, at 1049.) If a plea were permitted to Vehicle and Traffic Law 1192 (1) where there is no evidence of "impairment" due to alcohol consumption but only drugs, the plea would be based on the fiction that alcohol was the cause of the impairment. The court finds that this "materially untrue assumption or misinformation" as to the basis of the impairment would not enable the court to "assure itself" that the information upon which it bases the sentence is reliable and accurate, thereby violating the defendant's right to due process. This is because if the sentence is based on alcohol consumption when the only evidence is the use of drugs, the court's knowledge is "based on pure speculation" making the "imposition of defendant's sentence ... improper" ( People v. Naranjo, supra, at 1049).