People v. Donaudy

87 Misc. 2d 787, 386 N.Y.S.2d 326, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2304
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 2, 1976
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 87 Misc. 2d 787 (People v. Donaudy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Donaudy, 87 Misc. 2d 787, 386 N.Y.S.2d 326, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2304 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1976).

Opinion

Joseph Jaspan, J.

The defendants Donaudy and Wallice are charged in an indictment with conspiracy in the fourth degree, a class B misdemeanor (Penal Law, § 105.00) and with receiving unlawful gratuities, a class A misdemeanor (Penal Law, § 200.35) allegedly committed while both were Suffolk County public officials.

The defendant Donaudy has now moved for a dismissal of the indictment upon various grounds considered infra and if that relief is not granted, for a severance of his trial from that of his codefendant Wallice. The defendant Wallice moved on July 2, 1976 that he be deemed to have joined in the motion to dismiss and his application was granted without opposition.

The defendants urge dismissal because (a) they were denied a speedy trial, (b) the People have failed to comply with an order of the County Court dated November 21, 1975 which required them to serve Donaudy with a bill of particulars and provide other ordered pretrial discovery items and (c) the People have improperly used a Grand Jury, after indictment, to gather evidence for the prosecution of this case. A challenge to the composition of the Grand Jury which indicted has been withdrawn.

The motion by Donaudy for a separate trial is based upon a fear that his codefendant may have made an admission or confession which would incriminate him and therefore would [789]*789not be admissible in a joint trial (Bruton v United States, 391 US 123).

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Underlying the legal dispute on this motion is the overlapping, if not conflicting, jurisdictional interests and responsibilities of the District Attorney of the county and of Honorable Joseph P. Hoey, the Special Prosecutor, appointed by the Attorney-General of the State pursuant to executive order No. 14 dated September 11, 1975 as amended on December 11, 1975. The amended order was designed to give the Special Prosecutor authority to investigate the presentation of this case to the Grand Jury.

The executive order authorized inquiry before one or more grand juries of "any and all unlawful acts or omissions or alleged unlawful acts or omissions” of the Police Commissioner of the county or any present or former member or employee of the police department and of the District Attorney of the county or of any present member or former member or employee of his office and "any and all unlawful acts or omissions or alleged unlawful acts or omissions in any way related” to the above.

In accordance therewith, Mr. Hoey is pursuing an investigation of information that improper influence was brought to bear upon members of the District Attorney’s staff to prevent the indictment of Donaudy for the more serious crimes.

In effect the Special Prosecutor is inquiring as to why the defendant Donaudy was indicted for misdemeanors rather than one or more felonies.

The misdemeanor indictment was handed up on May 5, 1975 and the defendants were arraigned on May 7, 1975 at which time they were given 45 days to make motions. Wallice made his motion on June 13, 1975 and discovery was granted on July 9, 1975. The defendant Donaudy asked for and was granted additional time to make his motion and ultimately by order of November 21, 1975 the District Attorney was required to furnish a bill of particulars and other information within 10 days thereafter. The bill was not served until June 4, 1976 giving rise to the claim that the People were not ready for trial until that date and therefore violated the defendants’ right to a speedy trial.

A determination of this issue depends upon the intervening [790]*790events which I find to have justified the People’s failure to respond more promptly.

This case first appeared on the Trial Calendar of this court on March 17, 1976 and was adjourned for reasons not solely attributable to the People to May 21, 1976. On that date the People said they were ready for trial. Donaudy asked for and was granted time to make this motion to dismiss since he had not yet received his bill of particulars and the other pretrial information ordered on November 21, 1975. This motion ensued and a formal hearing was held on July 2, 1976.

The testimony and evidence at that hearing established that the file in this case had been turned over to the Honorable Joseph P. Hoey, the Special Prosecutor, at his request, in October, 1975 and had not been returned to the District Attorney until May, 1976. In the interim, Mr. Hoey on November 14, 1975 wrote to the District Attorney advising him that the case was being reviewed by his office and requested that the proceeding and another "be held in abeyance until we completely review the files.”

In the intervening months before May, 1976, there were correspondence and conferences with respect to this matter and an application by the Special Prosecutor to the Governor to supersede the District Attorney in the prosecution of this case. As late as March 19, 1976 Mr. Hoey reaffirmed to the District Attorney the fact that his investigation was continuing. In fact he was issuing subpoenas and questioning witnesses before an extraordinary special Grand Jury.

The total impact of the interest and activities of the Special Prosecutor in this case was to delay the District Attorney’s preparations for trial. Any precipitous action by the District Attorney might have been construed as an attempt to thwart the ongoing investigation.

No prejudice to the defendants’ case has been established. Nor is there any indication that the delay was intended to gain any trial advantage for the People. The delay between November 21, 1975 and June 4, 1976 was attributable to the special circumstances referred to above. The District Attorney acted with proper and reasonable dispatch as soon as he could.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

SPEEDY TRIAL ISSUE

While the defendants’ right to a speedy trial is guaranteed [791]*791by the Constitution (Sixth and Fourteenth Arndts) and by statute (CPL 30.20; Civil Rights Law, § 20) there is no specific temporal duration after which a defendant automatically becomes entitled to release. (People v Taranovich, 37 NY2d 442.) The court must examine the particular factors involved in the delay. (People v Prosser; 309 NY 353, 360.) This principle is recognized by the provisions of CPL 30.30 (subd [4], par [g]) which excuses periods of delay due to a variety of specified reasons including delay occasioned by "exceptional circumstances”.

I find that the triangle of interests in this case involving the defendants, the District Attorney, and the Special Prosecutor justified the delay and constituted the exceptional circumstances contemplated by the State statute and is not violative of any constitutional standard. (Barker v Wingo, 407 US 514.)

The delay computed on the basis most favorable to the defendants was approximately six months — not sufficient to constitute prejudice per se to the defendants. Nor was there proof of actual prejudice to the defendants’ ability to defend themselves. In fact the defendants themselves were not ready for trial at any date earlier than May 21, 1976.

No basis exists for a dismissal of the indictment upon the ground that the defendants have been denied a speedy trial.

FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE DISCOVERY ORDER

The delay has been satisfactorily explained. The decision in United States v Blauner

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Related

Erman v. State
434 A.2d 1030 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1981)
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92 Misc. 2d 694 (New York Supreme Court, 1977)
Hynes v. Lerner
57 A.D.2d 752 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
87 Misc. 2d 787, 386 N.Y.S.2d 326, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2304, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-donaudy-nysupct-1976.