In re Travis S.

180 Misc. 2d 234, 685 N.Y.S.2d 886, 1999 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 18
CourtNew York City Family Court
DecidedJanuary 27, 1999
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 180 Misc. 2d 234 (In re Travis S.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York City Family Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Travis S., 180 Misc. 2d 234, 685 N.Y.S.2d 886, 1999 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 18 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1999).

Opinion

[235]*235OPINION OF THE COURT

Paula J. Hepner, J.

Respondent appears before this court on a petition charging him with false personation, a violation of Penal Law § 190.23. Under this statute, a person is guilty of this offense when “after being informed of the consequences of such act, he or she knowingly misrepresents his or her actual name, date of birth or address to a police officer or peace officer with intent to prevent such [person] from ascertaining such information.” At the conclusion of the trial, respondent’s counsel moved to dismiss the petition on two grounds: first, that the police officer did not adequately inform the respondent of the consequences of giving a false name, date of birth or address,1 and second, that the law is unconstitutionally vague since it fails to properly define what the “consequences” are for violating the statute. It is the respondent’s contention that any warnings short of those required under Miranda v Arizona (384 US 436 [1966]) are insufficient to safeguard the respondent’s constitutional rights. Because the answers to “routine pedigree information” now form the basis for a criminal prosecution, that case law establishing a “pedigree exception” to the Miranda rule is no longer applicable.

The Presentment Agency argues that the full panoply of Miranda warnings is not required under the notice requirement of this statute since the Legislature did not specifically mandate it and because such warnings are not necessary for routine pedigree questioning, which is still good law because the administrative nature of the questioning has not changed.

Decision was reserved and counsel were directed to submit memoranda of law and due deliberation having been given to the points and authorities cited, the court makes the following determination.

THE RECORD

Officer Barbara Fischer stopped the respondent driving a 1985 Acura without taillights and asked the respondent his name and age. He told her his name (Travis Lewis) and his [236]*236age (16 years). Respondent had no identification for the officer to issue him a summons so she arrested him and took him to the precinct where she again asked his name, date of birth and address. Respondent repeated his name as Travis Lewis, gave a birth date of March 1, 1982 and an address of 390 Riverdale. Because the respondent looked too young, Officer Fischer said to him, “Are you sure you’re really 16, because if you’re not and you’re lying, there is a new charge called False Personation that you can be charged with.” After making this statement, Officer Fischer again asked the respondent his name, age and date of birth. The respondent’s parent or guardian was not present and he was handcuffed at the time. The respondent denied any of the information was false. After his fingerprints were processed, the respondent’s true identity (Travis S.), date of birth (Mar. 1, 1984) and address (392 Bristol) were ascertained, and he was charged with false personation in addition to unauthorized use of a vehicle in the third degree, which was the crime for which he was initially arrested.

THE STATUTE

Penal Law § 190.23 was enacted in May 1997 and became effective January 1, 1998. The elements of this crime are threefold: notice of the consequences of the act must be given, a knowing misrepresentation of one’s name, address and date of birth, and an intent to prevent a police officer from ascertaining such information. While the memorandum in support of this bill submitted by the New York State Senate speaks of a dual mens rea requirement, the first being “a specific intent to prevent the police officer * * * from performing an official function such as the booking process”, and the second being the “false pedigree information must be accomplished by the person in a knowing manner”,2 the statute itself contains no limiting language in regard to the purpose for which an inquiry about a person’s name, address or date of birth can be made. There is no language in the statute which restricts an officer’s inquiry about a person’s name, address or date of birth to situations affording him or her a lawful right to inquire. Similarly, there is no language in the statute which connects the defendant’s misrepresentation to an intent to obstruct the performance of an official governmental function. The Practice Commentary to this statute acknowledges this omission from the bill that was [237]*237enacted by the Legislature, and suggests that such an addition “would be a meaningful restriction on the scope of this statute”.3

Although the lack of meaningful restrictions on the exercise of this power by the police may give rise to a constitutional challenge on overbreadth grounds, the respondent challenges the constitutionality of the statute on vagueness grounds for the reason that the statute only requires an individual to be informed of “the consequences” of giving an incorrect name, address or date of birth to the police which, he argues, is not the explicit standard required by People v Nelson (69 NY2d 302, 308 [1987]) to avoid arbitrary and discriminatory application. Challenges to a statute on vagueness grounds focus on whether a statute affords citizens fair warning of the specific conduct which is prohibited by law. The statute makes the notice an element of the crime but not an element which pertains to the forbidden conduct. Without this element, the police are prevented from charging this crime. As to the notice aspect of the statute, the Legislature appears to have determined that whether what is said by the police is “ ‘sufficiently definite “to give a person of ordinary intelligence fair notice that his contemplated conduct is forbidden by the statute” ’ ” (People v Nelson, supra, at 307) should be examined on a case-by-case basis.

In this case, Officer Fischer explained to the respondent that there is a new crime and if he did not tell her his correct name, address and date of birth, he could be charged with false personation in addition to the crime for which he was arrested. The Law Guardian argues that the respondent’s understanding of the meaning of the word “charged” is compromised by his age, his custodial confinement at the precinct, and the use of a vague word. There is, however, no evidentiary foundation in the record for any aspect of this position. On the facts of this case, the notice provided was sufficient, assuming the police need not give the respondent the formal warnings required by Miranda v Arizona (supra).

THE WARNINGS

The exclusionary rule created in Weeks v United States (232 US 383 [1914]) and made applicable to the States in Mapp v Ohio (367 US 643 [1961]) makes inadmissible, evidence obtained as a result of an illegal search or seizure. The [238]*238exclusionary rule’s remedy (suppression of evidence obtained in violation of Fourth Amendment rights) was applied to violations of Fifth Amendment rights in Miranda v Arizona (supra).

When a statement is made during a custodial interrogation, the Presentment Agency has the burden of showing that the respondent knowingly and intelligently waived those constitutional rights enunciated under Miranda. The function of the warnings required by Miranda is to counteract the coercive pressure of the custodial setting, therefore, those rights apply only to custodial interrogations. (People v Deary, 212 AD2d 960 [4th Dept 1995],

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Bluebook (online)
180 Misc. 2d 234, 685 N.Y.S.2d 886, 1999 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 18, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-travis-s-nycfamct-1999.