After pleading guilty to a felony, J.W. Hardy was ordered to return to court several months later for sentencing.
While still handcuffed, Hardy was supposedly told by deputies to remain seated in the hallway. But as the officers processed the appropriate paperwork, Hardy unilaterally decided to leave the courthouse, and was captured some twenty minutes later.
When he was found guilty of escape in the second degree, Hardy challenged the conviction. After the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, agreed with the outcome, Hardy appealed to the New York State Court of Appeals.
Since New York's Penal Law -- ยง205.10(2) -- provides that someone is guilty of escape when he's been charged with a felony and flees from "official restraint or control," our state's highest court was of the view Hardy's departure had been "without authorization" and allowed the conviction to stand.
No escaping that.
To view a copy of the Court of Appeals' decision, please use this link: People v. Hardy