People v. Heller

180 Misc. 2d 160, 689 N.Y.S.2d 327, 1998 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 686
CourtCriminal Court of the City of New York
DecidedOctober 26, 1998
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 180 Misc. 2d 160 (People v. Heller) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Criminal Court of the City of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Heller, 180 Misc. 2d 160, 689 N.Y.S.2d 327, 1998 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 686 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1998).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Lucy Billings, J.

This case requires the court to resolve two difficult issues [162]*162that frequently arise when a misdemeanor information includes a defendant’s statements as basis for the offense charged. The first issue arises when, without the defendant’s admissions, the information does not allege sufficient facts to support the charge. Although CPL 60.50 forbids convictions solely upon uncorroborated admissions, and CPL 190.65 (1) imposes that corroboration rule on indictments, the Legislature expressly refrained from imposing that rule on misdemeanor accusatory instruments. Thus a misdemeanor information is not insufficient be'cause it relies on a defendant’s admission, which is admissible as an exception to the rule against hearsay, to establish an offense.

If the People intend to introduce evidence of the defendant’s statements at trial, however, service of the accusatory instrument containing the statements on him is not notice of the intention to offer the evidence, as required by CPL 710.30 (1) (a) and (2). Although a deféndant may move simultaneously to preclude the statements and to suppress them if the court denies preclusion, as long as he does not proceed to a determination of the suppression motion, he has not evinced actual notice sufficient to effect a waiver of his preclusion rights.

In this case, the People have charged defendant with criminal trespass in the second degree. (Penal Law § 140.15.) He moves to dismiss the accusatory instrument as facially insufficient because it relies on his statements. (CPL 170.30 [1] [a]; 170.35 [1] [a].) He also moves to preclude the People from offering evidence of his statements at trial because he has not received timely notice of the intention to use them at trial. (CPL 710.30 [3].) Alternatively, he moves to suppress his statements as involuntary (CPL 60.45, 710.20 [3]; People v Huntley, 15 NY2d 72 [1965]), or the fruit of an unlawful seizure. (Dunaway v New York, 442 US 200 [1979].)

In determining the motions the court has considered the factual allegations in the accusatory instrument, defendant’s motion papers, and the People’s response and voluntary disclosure form. For the reasons discussed below, the court denies defendant’s motion to dismiss and grants the motion to preclude.

I. THE MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FACIAL INSUFFICIENCY

A. The Parties’ Pleadings and Arguments

A person commits criminal trespass in the second degree when he “knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in a dwell[163]*163ing.” (Penal Law § 140.15.) The accusatory instrument alleges that at 9:38 a.m. on March 2, 1997, at 108 Avenue D, New York County, Police Officer Richard Suffern:

“observed the defendant on the roof of the dwelling, an apartment building where people reside at the above location and that said location is posted with signs saying ‘No Trespassing’ and in part: ‘Anyone who remains unlawfully upon these premises will be prosecuted’ (HPD Building).

“Defendant did not have permission or authority to be inside the dwelling based on information and belief the source of which is as follows: defendant is not a tenant of said location in that defendant provided a residence address different from the above location and informant observed the defendant trespass in a Housing Authority Building. Informant is a member of the Housing Bureau and as such is an agent of this building and defendant did not have permission or authority to enter or remain in the area where (s)he was found.

“Defendant is not an invited guest in that defendant stated, in substance: I was just hanging out in the building waiting for the stores to open.” (Emphasis added.)

Defendant moves to dismiss the charge of trespass in a dwelling on the ground that the accusatory instrument alleges no basis for the offense aside from his alleged admission that he was not a resident or invited guest at the dwelling. Defendant does not argue that the accusatory instrument fails to allege the elements of the offense of criminal trespass in the second degree. He correctly points out, however, that without his admissions, the instrument alleges no facts that give rise to an inference of criminal conduct. Defendant’s presence on the roof of a dwelling from which trespassers are barred may justify a police officer’s bare informational inquiry regarding defendant’s identity, address, and destination (People v Hollman, 79 NY2d 181, 190-191 [1992]; People v Velasquez, 217 AD2d 510, 511 [1st Dept 1995]), but is not inherently indicative of criminality. (People v Powell, 246 AD2d 366, 368 [1st Dept 1998]; People v Giles, 223 AD2d 39, 40 [1st Dept 1996]; People v Sanders, 172 AD2d 239 [1st Dept 1991]; People v Kojac, 176 Misc 2d 187, 193 [Sup Ct, NY County 1998].) The fact that the officer had not granted defendant permission to enter or remain on the roof supports the offense only upon defendant’s admission that he was not a resident or an invitee at the dwelling. Because he cannot be convicted without independent proof that he committed the offense (CPL 60.50), he argues that any accusatory instrument failing to allege such proof is facially insufficient as [164]*164a matter of law. (CPL 100.40 [1] [c]; People v Alejandro, 70 NY2d 133, 136 [1987].)

B. The Application of CPL 60.50 to Accusatory Instruments

Since defendant’s sole claim of facial insufficiency is that CPL 60.50 imposes a corroboration requirement on any accusatory instrument alleging only an accused’s admission to support an element of the offense, the court must determine whether CPL 60.50 applies to misdemeanor accusatory instruments.

1. The Corroboration Requirement of CPL 60.50

CPL 60.50 provides that: “A person may not be convicted of any offense solely upon evidence of a confession or admission made by him without additional proof that the offense charged has been committed.” By its terms, CPL 60.50 forbids convictions solely upon uncorroborated confessions or admissions. A “conviction” is “the entry of a plea of guilty to, or a verdict of guilty upon, an accusatory instrument other than a felony complaint, or to one or more counts of such instrument.” (CPL 1.20 [13].)

The rule protects against conviction of an offense based only on a person’s admission, with no other proof that the offense actually has been committed. (People v Lipsky, 57 NY2d 560, 570 [1982].) The rule is satisfied when the admission is supported by “ ‘some proof, of whatever weight’, that the offense charged has in fact been committed by someone”. (People v Booden, 69 NY2d 185, 187 [1987], quoting People v Daniels, 37 NY2d 624, 629 [1975]; see also, People v Duke, 160 AD2d 1017, 1018 [2d Dept 1990].) Thus it is unnecessary to produce independent evidence corroborating every element of the offense. (People v Chico, 90 NY2d 585, 589-590 [1997]; People v McCray, 198 AD2d 200, 201 [1st Dept 1993].) The corroboration requirement is met merely by proof of circumstances “ ‘ “calculated to suggest the commission of crime, and for the explanation of which the confession furnishes the key” ’ ”. (People v Jackson, 65 NY2d 265, 273 [1985] [citation omitted].)

2. The Requirements for Accusatory Instruments

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Bluebook (online)
180 Misc. 2d 160, 689 N.Y.S.2d 327, 1998 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 686, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-heller-nycrimct-1998.