People v. Suitte

OPINION OF THE COURT Lazer, J. P.

The defendant has pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, a class A misdemeanor. The sentence we review consists of 30 days of imprisonment and three years of probation, the jail time to be a condition of and to run concurrently with the period of probation. Execution of the sentence has been stayed pending this appeal. In the course of a typically eloquent opinion dissenting from our vote to affirm, Justice O’Con-nor concludes that the custodial portion of the sentence is an abuse of discretion, castigates as futile the vast national emphasis upon incarceration as a means of punishment, [*81] attacks the resultant pressures that a vengeance-ridden society imposes on the judicial system and condemns the crushing effects of those pressures upon those unduly punished as a consequence. In our colleague’s view, the sentence “borders on the obscene”. Although we share Justice O’Connor’s concern over the state of the Nation’s correctional processes, we still cannot agree that the sentence imposed represents excessive punishment or abuse of sentencing discretion.

When arrested in January, 1981, for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, based on what seems to have been a misunderstanding, James Suitte was found to possess a loaded Sterling .25 calibre automatic pistol. Although Mr. Suitte had registered the gün in North. Carolina when he acquired it there in 1973, he carried it unlicensed in this State for the seven and one-half year period preceding his arrest. College educated for three years, Mr. Suitte is 46 years old, has been married for 25 years, and has two children, aged 14 and 21 years. He has never before been convicted of a crime. Although he admits he was aware of New York’s gun licensing requirement, he claims that the gun was necessary for protection because the tailor shop he operates is located in a high crime area of The Bronx.