People v. Williams

In People v. Williams, 14 N.Y.3d 198, 925 N.E.2d 878, 899 N.Y.S.2d 76, 2010 WL 605257, 2010 NY Slip Op 1527 (Feb. 23, 2010), the Court of Appeals considered whether defendants who had finished serving their determinate terms of incarceration and had been released from prison could be re-sentenced to a term of post-release supervision without violating the Double Jeopardy Clause of the federal Constitution. The Court of Appeals in Williams held that "after release from prison, a legitimate expectation in the finality of a sentence arises and the Double Jeopardy Clause [of the United States Constitution] prevents reformation to attach a [post-release supervision] component to the original completed sentence." (People v. Williams, supra , 2010 NY Slip Op 1527 at 11-12). As defendant has completed the original sentence as pronounced by the sentencing court and has been released from custody, the imposition at this time by this court of an amended sentence including any period of post-release supervision, even for a shorter period than that specified by DOCS and the Division, would abridge his rights under the Double Jeopardy Clause of the federal Constitution (see People v. Williams, supra ). 4.