People v. Flickinger

88 Misc. 2d 64, 387 N.Y.S.2d 957, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2623
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 20, 1976
StatusPublished

This text of 88 Misc. 2d 64 (People v. Flickinger) 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. Flickinger, 88 Misc. 2d 64, 387 N.Y.S.2d 957, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2623 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1976).

Opinion

Edward S. Lentol, J.

Defendant has moved this court for an order:

(1) dismissing this indictment on the ground that the People failed to procure authorization for resubmission to the Grand Jury pursuant to CPL 210.20 (subd 4);

(2) granting inspection of the Grand Jury minutes or in the alternative having the court read said minutes and dismissing the indictment pursuant to CPL 210.30;

(3) dismissing the indictment on the ground that sections 3331 and 3335 of the Public Health Law are unconstitutionally vague;

(4) dismissing the indictment in furtherance of justice pursuant to CPL 210.40 and

(5) pursuant to CPL article 710 suppressing evidence unlawfully obtained by means of eavesdropping.

Defendant was indicted by the Grand Jury of the Special Narcotics Court of the City of New York (sitting in New York County) for violating sections 3331 and 3335 of the Public Health Law in that he prescribed a controlled substance (Doriden) in Kings County not in good faith and not in the course of his professional practice^.

This indictment was subsequently dismissed on June 27, 1975 by the Special Narcotics Court (Polsky, J.) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. A similar indictment involving the drug Valium was dismissed by the same court for lack of jurisdiction based on two grounds: (1) the drug involved was [66]*66not a narcotic and (2) prescribing the drug did not constitute "possession or sale” (People v Shukla, 82 Misc 2d 912 — the court in that case did not in its decision grant leave to resubmit).

Thereafter, the matter was submitted to the Grand Jury of Kings County which returned an indictment on April 8, 1976 containing the same charges as were contained in the first indictment.

It is not alleged or claimed that the District Attorney of Kings County obtained any authorization from the Narcotics Court or any other court for leave to submit or resubmit the charges to the Kings County Grand Jury.

The defendant now moves for an order dismissing the indictment pursuant to CPL 210.20. Subdivision 4 of that section provides: "Upon dismissing an indictment or a count thereof upon any of the grounds specified in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (i) of subdivision one * * * the court may, upon application of the people, in its discretion authorize the people to submit the charge or charges to the same or another grand jury * * * In the absence of authorization to submit or resubmit, the order of dismissal constitutes a bar to any further prosecution of such charge or charges, by indictment or otherwise, in any criminal court within the county.”

CPL 210.20 (subd 1 par [a]) provides for dismissal of an indictment if such indictment is defective within the meaning of CPL 210.25. CPL 210.25 (subd 2) states that an indictment is defective when the allegations demonstrate the court does not have jurisdiction of the offense charged.

The Special Narcotics Court was created pursuant to article 5-B of the Judiciary Law which embodies "an emergency narcotics program” initiated by the Legislature in 1971. The heart of the program involves the establishment of special, centralized narcotics parts to hear and determine narcotics indictments assigned thereto from any part of the Supreme Court in any county within cities having a population of one million or more (see Judiciary Law, § 177-a; § 177-b, subd 1; § 177-c).

Since the dismissal of the indictment herein, the Court of Appeals in a case decided June 8, 1976 (People v Taylor, 39 NY2d 649) held that the effect of this legislation is to combine the five counties of New York City into a single unit for purposes of prosecuting narcotic indictments. Thus, the Centralized Special Narcotics Part in New York County has city[67]*67wide jurisdiction over cases involving the sale or possession of narcotic drugs in Kings County.

The fatal defect here is that the Narcotics Court, at the time that it dismissed the indictment, failed to simultaneously grant to the People leave to resubmit the charges to the same or another Grand Jury. When the Narcotics Court granted such dismissal without including leave to resubmit the charges, that was the end of the case.

In People v Zerillo (146 App Div 812, 817) the court stated: "It seems clear, therefore, that what the Code of Criminal Procedure contemplates is that, unless the judge allowing the demurrer, at the same time directs a resubmission to another grand jury, the defendant is freed, and no further action of another judge can reinstate his liability to punishment for the same offense.” (Emphasis added.)

The court further held that (p 816): "The discretion which is to be exercised in directing a resubmission is the contemporaneous act of the judge who, having heard the arguments of the parties, has decided the validity or invalidity of the indictment, and should best know whether the objection which he has deemed well taken could or should be remedied upon a new submission.” (Emphasis added.) (See, also, People v Krivitzky, 60 App Div 307, affd 168 NY 182; People ex rel. Grossman v Warden of City Prison of N. Y., 172 Misc 183; People v Benson, 208 Misc 138, 142.)

As a result, the District Attorney is now barred from making an application to the Special Narcotics Court for authorization to resubmit this case to a Kings County Grand Jury.

CPL 210.45 (subd 8) provides: "When the court dismisses the entire indictment without authorizing resubmission of the charge or charges to a grand jury, it must order that the defendant be discharged from custody if he is in the custody of the sheriff, or if he is at liberty on bail it must exonerate the bail.” (Formerly Code Grim Pro, §§ 327, 328.)

When the Narcotics Court dismissed the entire indictment without authorizing resubmission, there was nothing left before that court. The defendant was entitled to be forthwith discharged and his bail exonerated.

The case of People v Jenkins (39 AD2d 924) is distinguishable. In that case on January 27, 1970 the County Court made an order suppressing the evidence and dismissed the indict[68]*68ment. On April 1, 1970 upon reargument at the request of the People before another Judge, the January order of suppression and dismissal was vacated and a hearing was directed on the suppression motion. The first order of dismissal did not contain a provision for resubmission. On appeal, the court reinstated the January order and granted permission to the People to apply to the County Court pursuant to CPL 210.20 (subd 4), for leave to submit the charges to another grand jury. The court specifically held after the County Court dismissed the indictment on January 27, 1970, following its granting of the motion to suppress the evidence upon which the indictment was based, the available remedies to the People for possible reinstatement of the indictment were either by appeal or by applying to the same Judge under the then section 327 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (now CPL 210.20) for leave to resubmit the matter to the same or another grand jury.

However, Jenkins is distinguishable from the case at bar. In Jenkins, the indictment was dismissed because of insufficient evidence after the physical evidence had been suppressed and not as a matter of law, whereas the Special Narcotics Court dismissed the first Flickinger

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Related

Rose v. Locke
423 U.S. 48 (Supreme Court, 1975)
The People v. Guagliata
200 N.E. 169 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1936)
People v. . Krivitzky
61 N.E. 175 (New York Court of Appeals, 1901)
People v. Krivitzky
60 A.D. 307 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1901)
People v. Zerillo
146 A.D. 812 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1911)
People ex rel. Grossman v. Warden of City Prison
172 Misc. 183 (New York Supreme Court, 1939)
People v. Scott
258 N.E.2d 206 (New York Court of Appeals, 1970)
People v. Kass
299 N.E.2d 685 (New York Court of Appeals, 1973)
People v. Taylor
350 N.E.2d 600 (New York Court of Appeals, 1976)
People v. Jenkins
39 A.D.2d 924 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1972)
Miranda v. Isseks
41 A.D.2d 176 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1973)
People v. Benson
208 Misc. 138 (New York County Courts, 1955)
People v. Kass
74 Misc. 2d 682 (Appellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York, 1973)
People v. Goldberg
82 Misc. 2d 474 (New York Supreme Court, 1975)
People v. Shukla
82 Misc. 2d 912 (New York Supreme Court, 1975)
Nunn v. California
352 U.S. 883 (Supreme Court, 1956)
Nunn v. California
352 U.S. 945 (Supreme Court, 1956)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
88 Misc. 2d 64, 387 N.Y.S.2d 957, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2623, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-flickinger-nysupct-1976.