Matter of Smith v. Devane

In Matter of Smith v. Devane, 73 AD3d 179, 181-182, 898 NYS2d 702 [2010], lv denied 15 NY3d 708, 935 NE2d 814, 909 NYS2d 22 [2010]), the Board required the petitioner to register under Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) based on a guilty plea to a Texas crime requiring that the petitioner register as a sex offender in Texas, in which the court imposed a "deferred adjudication" of guilt, 6 suspended imposition of a prison sentence, and placed the petitioner under a term of community supervision, akin to probation (Matter of Smith, 73 AD3d at 181). As noted above, the Third Department emphasized that it is the entry of the guilty plea that constitutes a conviction under New York law (id. at 182.) Consequently, the Third Department found that the Texas guilty plea constituted a conviction requiring registration under SORA, notwithstanding the deferred adjudication of guilt (id. at 183).