{"jurisdiction": "us-ny", "code": "cpl", "section": "470.30", "citation": "CPL § 470.30", "heading": "Determination by court of appeals of appeals taken directly thereto from judgments and orders of criminal courts", "text": ["§ 470.30 Determination by court of appeals of appeals taken directly", "thereto from judgments and orders of criminal courts.", "1. Wherever appropriate, the rules set forth in sections 470.15 and 470.20, governing the consideration and determination by intermediate appellate courts of appeals thereto from judgments and orders of criminal courts, and prescribing their scope of review and the corrective action to be taken by them upon reversal or modification, apply equally to the consideration and determination by the court of appeals of appeals taken directly thereto, pursuant to sections 450.70 and 450.80, from judgments and orders of superior criminal courts.", "2. Whenever a sentence of death is imposed, the judgment and sentence shall be reviewed on the record by the court of appeals.  Review by the court of appeals pursuant to subdivision one of section 450.70 may not be waived.", "3. With regard to the sentence, the court shall, in addition to exercising the powers and scope of review granted under subdivision one of this section, determine:", "(a) whether the sentence of death was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary or legally impermissible factor including whether the imposition of the verdict or sentence was based upon the race of the defendant or a victim of the crime for which the defendant was convicted;", "(b) whether the sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases considering both the crime and the defendant. In conducting such review the court, upon request of the defendant, in addition to any other determination, shall review whether the sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases by virtue of the race of the defendant or a victim of the crime for which the defendant was convicted; and", "(c) whether the decision to impose the sentence of death was against the weight of the evidence.", "4. The court shall include in its decision:", "(a) the aggravating and mitigating factors established in the record on appeal; and", "(b) those similar cases it took into consideration.", "5. In addition to exercising any other corrective action pursuant to subdivision one of this section, the court, with regard to review of a sentence of death, shall be authorized to:", "(a) affirm the sentence of death; or", "(b) set the sentence aside and remand the case for resentencing pursuant to the procedures set forth in section 400.27 for a determination as to whether the defendant shall be sentenced to death, life imprisonment without parole or to a term of imprisonment for the class A-I felony of murder in the first degree other than a sentence of life imprisonment without parole; or", "(c) set the sentence aside and remand the case for resentencing by the court for a determination as to whether the defendant shall be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole or to a term of imprisonment for the class A-I felony of murder in the first degree other than a sentence of life imprisonment without parole."], "official_source": "https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/470.30", "from_official_api": true, "plain_english": "The Court of Appeals applies the intermediate-appellate review and corrective-action rules in **§§ 470.15 and 470.20** when deciding direct appeals under **§§ 450.70 and 450.80**.\n\n- **(1)** Those review and remedy rules apply wherever appropriate.\n- **(2)** Every death judgment and sentence receives **mandatory record review by the Court of Appeals**, and the review under **§ 450.70(1) cannot be waived**. ★\n- **(3)** The court must decide whether death was imposed because of passion, prejudice, race, or another arbitrary or unlawful factor; whether it is excessive or disproportionate in similar cases; and whether it is against the weight of the evidence. At the defendant’s request, proportionality review must include whether race made the sentence excessive or disproportionate.\n- **(4)** The decision must identify the aggravating and mitigating factors in the record and the similar cases considered.\n- **(5)** The court may **affirm death**, order resentencing under **§ 400.27** on death or authorized imprisonment options, or order court resentencing on authorized imprisonment options without death.", "in_force_on": "2026-05-31", "retrieved": "2026-09-27", "url": "https://elyphived.com/us-ny/cpl/470.30", "publisher": "Elyphived LLC"}