A defendant is convicted of a violation under New York Penal Law §70.15. The offense is defined outside the Penal Law, and the law creating the offense expressly provides that the penalty consists solely of a fine. What sentence may the court impose?
Penal Law §70.15(4) does state that a violation sentence generally may not exceed 15 days.
The three-month maximum in Penal Law §70.15(2) applies to a class B misdemeanor, not to a violation.
Penal Law §70.15(4) provides that a sentence for a violation is generally a definite sentence not exceeding 15 days. However, it further states that when the violation is defined outside the chapter and the law or ordinance expressly specifies a sentence consisting solely of a fine, no term of imprisonment shall be imposed. Because the offense here is defined outside the Penal Law and the penalty is expressly fine-only, the court cannot impose jail.
The 364-day maximum applies to misdemeanors under §70.15, not to violations; §70.15(4) bars imprisonment for fine-only violations.
Explanation
Whenever a violation defined outside the Penal Law expressly provides for a penalty consisting only of a fine, no jail term may be imposed. The rule is that imprisonment for a violation is generally capped at 15 days, but an outside-law fine-only violation allows no imprisonment at all.