People v. Crouthers

193 Misc. 2d 471, 750 N.Y.S.2d 450, 2002 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1489
CourtNew York County Courts
DecidedOctober 21, 2002
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 193 Misc. 2d 471 (People v. Crouthers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York County Courts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Crouthers, 193 Misc. 2d 471, 750 N.Y.S.2d 450, 2002 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1489 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Kevin K. Ryan, J.

Introduction

On July 29, 2002, the Clinton County Grand Jury filed with [472]*472this court a no bill of indictment against Lawrence Crouthers. The no bill of indictment stated that a case had been presented against Mr. Crouthers charging him with the “maximum crime of Murder in the Second Degree committed June 9, 2002, as well as other offenses.”1

On September 4, 2002, a few days before the term of the grand jury ended, the clerk of the court received information that a grand juror from the panel had called the court clerk’s office and stated that he had contacted the District Attorney about reconvening the grand jury relative to the Crouthers proceeding and that the District Attorney had referred him to the court. The court is by statute a legal advisor to the grand jury (see CPL 190.25 [6]). The court instructed the court clerk to direct the juror and the foreperson or assistant foreperson to appear on September 6, 2002. The District Attorney was also directed to appear and to provide the grand jury minutes of this proceeding.

On September 6, 2002, in the presence of the District Attorney and assistant foreperson, the grand juror informed the court that he wished the grand jury to reconvene to consider lesser charges not presented to it for consideration by the District Attorney. The court reviewed the minutes concerning the submission of charges and noted that two charges of murder in the second degree (Penal Law § 125.25) were submitted for the grand jury’s consideration: subdivision (1), intentional murder, and subdivision (2), commonly referred to as “depraved mind murder.” As set forth previously, the no bill of indictment had stated that a case charging murder in the second degree “as well as other offenses” had been presented. When asked why no lesser charges had been presented, the District Attorney informed the court that he did not want to confuse the grand jury with other submissions. He also indicated that the grand jury had received all possible evidence and he had no intention of reconvening the grand jury to consider any offenses not submitted to it. The court indicated that it would review the entire grand jury minutes to determine its response. This decision and order now follows.

[473]*473Underlying Facts

This case concerns a tragic incident that occurred in the City of Plattsburgh on Sunday, June 9, 2002, at approximately 6:30 a.m. According to the grand jury minutes, Lawrence Crouthers was in bed at his home at 40 William Street. Also at home were his wife and adult daughter. Awakened by his wife, he responded to a perceived break-in at his residence by locating a rifle he owned and proceeded downstairs to his front door. A short time later, Andrew Leroux, a 21-year-old man, who also resided in Plattsburgh, and who earlier that morning had attended a party at another house on William Street, was shot to death. He was found lying on the sidewalk leading from the city sidewalk to the Crouthers’ front door.

Discussion

This court believes the first question presented by this case is, “Does the Court have the authority to direct resubmission of the case to a . grand jury for further consideration when the District Attorney has not sought, nor does not now seek, resubmission?” Assuming the answer to this question is “yes,” the second question is, “Is it appropriate to do so in this case?”

The filing of a no bill by a grand jury is an action that does not generate a significant amount of case law for the obvious reason that the proposed defendant is presumably pleased with the result. Appellate review in this area deals almost exclusively with instances in which a district attorney seeks resubmission of a charge for which the grand jury has issued a no bill. The governing statute is CPL 190.75 (3), which states:

“When a charge has been so dismissed, it may not again be submitted to a grand jury unless the court in its discretion authorizes or directs the people to resubmit such charge to the same or another grand jury. If in such case the charge is again dismissed, it may not again be submitted to a grand jury.” (Emphasis added.)

The purpose of requiring a district attorney to obtain court permission before he or she can once more, and only once more, resubmit a charge previously dismissed by a grand jury is to prevent an overzealous prosecutor from repeatedly submitting a charge until an indictment is finally obtained {see Preiser, Practice Commentaries, McKinney’s Cons Laws of NY, Book 11 A, CPL 190.75 at 349). The statute, by its language, does not limit who may apply to the court for such relief, although, from [474]*474a review of the case law, it is overwhelmingly most often done by the prosecutor.2

The various cases dealing with resubmission are therefore not particularly helpful here since the District Attorney in this case is not seeking resubmission. Furthermore, CPL 190.75 (3) addresses only the consideration by a grand jury of charges previously submitted and dismissed by a grand jury and does not prohibit the new submission of charges not previously presented, the request made by the grand juror in this case.

In those instances where charges have been presented which resulted in no bills, the case law discusses three general situations in which a resubmission may be appropriate upon application by the prosecutor: (1) new evidence has been discovered since the first submission to the grand jury, (2) the first grand jury failed to give the case a complete and impartial investigation, and (3) there is some basis for believing that the grand jury behaved in an irregular manner (see People v Dykes, 86 AD2d 191, 193 [2d Dept 1982]). A prosecutor is not able to resubmit a case “merely because he is dissatisfied with or disagrees with the conclusion of the Grand Jury” (id.).

One of the very few cases which addresses the question of a court on its own motion directing the reconsideration of a case by a grand jury is People ex rel. Besser v Ruthazer (3 AD2d 137 [1st Dept 1957]). Although the Besser decision was written when the Criminal Procedure Law’s predecessor, the Code of Criminal Procedure, provided the statutory framework on this issue, this court finds nothing in its conclusion that has been altered by either subsequent decisions or statutes.3 In sanctioning the lower court’s direction to resubmit a charge on which a no bill had been returned, the Besser Court stated,

“There is nothing in the language of the statute, nor in its history, which suggests that its effect was to limit the power of the court of jurisdiction, as it existed at common law, to direct the resubmission of a charge which had theretofore failed to result in [475]*475the return of a true bill by a Grand Jury. The limitation suggested in the statute and the conditions for providing the resubmission are directed to resubmission sought to be obtained by the prosecutor” (id. at 138).

In the previously mentioned Preiser Practice Commentaries to CPL 190.75, the author cites the Staff Comments for the proposed Criminal Procedure Law in which the Besser case is referred to as providing the possibility for judicial abuse in the resubmission of charges by the court on its own motion. However, a review of Besser

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
193 Misc. 2d 471, 750 N.Y.S.2d 450, 2002 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1489, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-crouthers-nycountyct-2002.