N.Y. PEN Law § 70.35
This is the official text of N.Y. PEN Law § 70.35, part of New York’s Penal Law — defines crimes and punishments in New York.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Merger of certain definite and indeterminate or determinate sentences
Official statutory text
* § 70.35 Merger of certain definite and indeterminate or determinate\n sentences.\n The service of an indeterminate or determinate sentence of\nimprisonment shall satisfy any definite sentence of imprisonment imposed\non a person for an offense committed prior to the time the indeterminate\nor determinate sentence was imposed, except as provided in paragraph (b)\nof subdivision five of section 70.25 of this article. A person who is\nserving a definite sentence at the time an indeterminate or determinate\nsentence is imposed shall be delivered to the custody of the state\ndepartment of corrections and community supervision to commence service\nof the indeterminate or determinate sentence immediately unless the\nperson is serving a definite sentence pursuant to paragraph (b) of\nsubdivision five of section 70.25 of this article. In any case where the\nindeterminate or determinate sentence is revoked or vacated, the person\nshall receive credit against the definite sentence for each day spent in\nthe custody of the state department of corrections and community\nsupervision.\n * NB Effective until September 1, 2027\n* § 70.35 Merger of certain definite and indeterminate sentences.\n The service of an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment shall satisfy\nany definite sentence of imprisonment imposed on a person for an offense\ncommitted prior to the time the indeterminate sentence was imposed,\nexcept as provided in paragraph (b) of subdivision five of section 70.25\nof this article. A person who is serving a definite sentence at the time\nan indeterminate sentence is imposed shall be delivered to the custody\nof the state department of corrections and community supervision to\ncommence service of the indeterminate sentence immediately unless the\nperson is serving a definite sentence pursuant to paragraph (b) of\nsubdivision five of section 70.25 of this article. In any case where the\nindeterminate sentence is revoked or vacated, the person shall receive\ncredit against the definite sentence for each day spent in the custody\nof the state department of corrections and community supervision.\n * NB Effective September 1, 2027\n
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Dealing with a criminal defense matter in New York?
See all New York Criminal Defense lawyers
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.