People v. Harris

119 Misc. 2d 172, 462 N.Y.S.2d 969, 1983 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3482
CourtNew York County Courts
DecidedApril 20, 1983
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 119 Misc. 2d 172 (People v. Harris) 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. Harris, 119 Misc. 2d 172, 462 N.Y.S.2d 969, 1983 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3482 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1983).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Peter P. Rosato, J.

Defendant stands charged under the indictment with crimes of burglary, second degree, grand larceny, second degree (value $1,500), and grand larceny, third degree (i.e., credit cards) stemming from an alleged burglary at the home of a Mr. Fischman in Greenburgh on or about April 29 and 30, 1982. The People represent that Mr. Fischman reported that his 1982 Oldsmobile, his wife’s jewelry box, a pocketbook, and some credit cards were missing from his home. Later on during the day of April 30,1982, defendant and an alleged accomplice were arrested in Bronx County in possession of that same 1982 Oldsmobile. Subsequently, on August 2, 1982, defendant pleaded guilty in The Bronx to a charge of criminal possession of stolen property, third degree, with respect to possession of the Oldsmobile. Defendant now seeks to have the instant Westchester County [173]*173indictment dismissed on double jeopardy grounds. A hearing to consider that question was previously ordered by the Honorable Daniel F. McMahon by decision and order dated December 23, 1982. The People’s motion to reargue the granting of such a hearing has since been denied as untimely per decision and order of Judge McMahon dated March 23,1983, following which a hearing was held before this court on April 12, 1983.

Immediately prior to the hearing, the People handed up, over defendant’s objection, an amended bill of particulars, dated April 11,1983, pursuant to CPL 200.95 (subd 8). The original bill of particulars dated November 16, 1982, had specified that the property referred to in count two, charging defendant with grand larceny, second degree, i.e., property having a' value in excess of $1,500, included the following:

“(a) 1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass 4-door automobile and keys to same;

“(b) one pearl necklace;

“(c) one snake-type ring with diamonds;

“(d) ten sets of assorted earrings;

“(e) one green ball with gold snake;

“(f) $20.00 in cash.”

The amended bill differs in only one respect, i.e., that subdivision (a) now refers solely to “one set of keys,” the reference to the 1982 Oldsmobile having been deleted.

The sole witness at the hearing was Assistant District Attorney Russell Seeman. Called by the defendant, Mr. Seeman testified that he had recently been assigned as the trial assistant on the case, having taken over for Mr. Pronti, who recently left the office. When asked if he would have to rely on defendant’s possession of the keys and car to make out a prima facie case at trial, Mr. Seeman responded either that he “didn’t know” or that such a determination was premature at this time, pending the outcome of a pretrial suppression hearing. He further testified that there were items of evidence stolen from the premises aside from the car and the car keys, for example, jewelry and credit cards, among other items. Nonetheless, [174]*174he conceded that the car and car keys constituted a “strong part” of his case, and that, in fact, the only evidence of which he was presently aware consisted of the car, the car keys, and certain statements made by the defendant which could be construed, in part, as being in the nature of admissions vis-a-vis the car.

In order to resolve the question raised herein, the court will attempt to discuss both the constitutional and statutory aspects of defendant’s argument. At the outset, the court would note that insofar as a constitutional double jeopardy analysis is concerned, there is no clear-cut authority as to precisely which test to apply. (See People v Dean, 56 AD2d 242, affd 45 NY2d 651.) However, the test most often employed appears to be that set forth in Block-burger v United States (284 US 299, 304), i.e., “whether each provision requires proof of a fact which the other does not.” And see People v Artis (74 AD2d 644), wherein, under Blockburger, it was held that a prosecution for robbery was not barred on double jeopardy grounds by virtue of a prior guilty plea to criminal possession of stolen property, third degree, each statute requiring proof of a fact the other did not require. The Blockburger rationale was refined in Illinois v Vitale (447 US 410), wherein it was held that if the greater charge, there manslaughter by automobile, does not always entail proof of the lesser charge, there a failure to reduce speed, then the two offenses are not the “same” under Blockburger. Putting it another way, the court in Vitale (p 416), reaffirmed its holding in Brown v Ohio (432 US 161), i.e., “We recognized that the Blockburger test focuses on the proof necessary to prove the statutory elements of each offense, rather than on the actual evidence to be presented at trial. Thus, we stated that if ‘ “each statute requires proof of an additional fact which the other does not,” Morey v Comm., 108 Mass. 433, 434 (1871),’ the offenses are not the same under the Blockburger test. 432 U.S. at 166 * * * Ianelli v. United States, 420 U.S. 770, 785, n. 17 (1975).” (Emphasis supplied.)

Thus, focusing on the statutory elements of the offenses, notwithstanding the potential for a “substantial overlap” in the actual proof offered, this court would agree with the holding of Justice Irving Lang in People v Fletcher (113 [175]*175Misc 2d 5) that a charge of burglary, which by definition requires as one element the alleged unlawful entry of a premises, requires proof of a fact not required to be proven in a prosecution for criminal possession of stolen property, and vice versa, and that therefore prosecution on the burglary charge is not constitutionally barred under the Blockburger test.

Moving on to the statutory analysis, the court would again concur with the Fletcher court that a separate prosecution of the burglary count herein is permissible. Justice Lang noted in Fletcher (supra), that with the enactment of CPL 40.20, the New York Legislature expanded upon the constitutional double jeopardy protections so as to generally preclude a second prosecution based upon the “same transaction” as a former one. However, CPL 40.20 (subd 2) contains six exceptions, only the first two of which, as contained in CPL 40.20 (subd 2, par [a]) are arguably applicable here. If the People can satisfy either of these exceptions, prosecution on the instant burglary charge would not be barred.

CPL 40.20 (subd 2, par [a]) provides:

“A person may not be separately prosecuted for two offenses based upon the same act or criminal transaction unless:

“(a) The offenses as defined have substantially different elements and the acts establishing one offense are in the main clearly distinguishable from those establishing the other”.

In addition, CPL 40.20 (subd 2, par [b]) provides that a separate prosecution will not be barred where: “Each of the offenses as defined contains an element which is not an element of the other, and the statutory provisions defining such offenses are designed to prevent very different kinds of harm or evil”.

On the facts here, the instant prosecution for the alleged crime of burglary would seem to be proper under the latter paragraph, 40.20 (subd 2, par [b]). This court would agree with Justice Lang’s observations in Fletcher

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Related

People v. Perkins
161 Misc. 2d 502 (New York Supreme Court, 1994)
People v. Nowakowski
132 Misc. 2d 31 (New York County Courts, 1986)
People v. Kelly
117 A.D.2d 680 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1986)

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Bluebook (online)
119 Misc. 2d 172, 462 N.Y.S.2d 969, 1983 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3482, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-harris-nycountyct-1983.