## Facts

- A police officer saw Wayne Davis in Betsy Head Park in Brooklyn at about 2:06 a.m., after a posted 9:00 p.m. park closing time.
- Presence in a city park after closing violated a New York City Parks Department rule enforceable by criminal prosecution as a Class B misdemeanor.
- Davis was arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and consented under CPL § 350.20 to trial, disposition, and sentencing before a Judicial Hearing Officer (JHO), a retired judge authorized to act in New York City Criminal Court for specified matters.
- The JHO conducted a bench trial, found Davis guilty, and imposed a sentence of a $75 fine or up to 10 days’ incarceration; the sentence was later modified to time served.
- Davis appealed, arguing that CPL § 350.20 unconstitutionally allowed a non-constitutional “judge” to exercise the State’s judicial power in a criminal case.

## Issues

1. Whether CPL § 350.20 violates the New York Constitution by authorizing a Judicial Hearing Officer (a retired judge) to conduct a trial, render a verdict, and impose sentence in a Class B misdemeanor prosecution.
2. Whether a defendant’s consent to JHO adjudication under CPL § 350.20 renders a resulting misdemeanor conviction constitutionally valid.

## Decision

- The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court order upholding the conviction.
- The court held CPL § 350.20 constitutional as applied to Class B misdemeanors in New York City Criminal Court when the parties consent.
- The court ruled that Davis’s consent permitted the JHO to try, convict, and sentence him, with appellate review available as for a judgment entered by a Criminal Court judge.

## Legal Principles

- The Legislature may authorize retired judges, designated as Judicial Hearing Officers, to perform adjudicatory functions within an existing constitutionally established court, so long as the arrangement does not create an extra-constitutional tribunal.
- A JHO acting under CPL § 350.20 exercises the jurisdiction of the New York City Criminal Court rather than independent judicial power, and the JHO’s determinations are reviewable on appeal in the same manner as Criminal Court judgments.
- For Class B misdemeanors under CPL § 350.20, party consent—while preserving the defendant’s ability to insist on a sitting Criminal Court judge—serves as a required safeguard supporting the statute’s validity.

## Conclusion

The Court of Appeals upheld CPL § 350.20 and affirmed Davis’s conviction, concluding that a retired-judge JHO may constitutionally conduct trials and impose sentences for Class B misdemeanors in New York City Criminal Court when the defendant consents and ordinary appellate review remains available.


People v. Davis, 13 N.Y.3d 17 (N.Y. 2009)