People v. Pinella

OPINION OF THE COURT

Herbert Adlerberg, J.

Must a defendant be adjudicated a predicate felony offender *702for the purpose of enhanced punishment where the predicate crime is based upon a conviction in a foreign jurisdiction, and both the foreign statute and the comparable New York statute (1) are equivalent as to their elements, and (2) authorize a sentence in excess of one year; but the foreign statute deprives the defendant of a defense which might have been available to him under New York law?

For the reasons set forth below, this court answers the question in the affirmative.

On April 22, 1987,…