People v. Mitchell

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York

People v. Mitchell

301 A.D.2d 451, 755 N.Y.S.2d 366, 2003 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 390

CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York

DecidedJanuary 23, 2003

StatusPublished

Cited by2 cases

This text of 301 A.D.2d 451 (People v. Mitchell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State 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. Mitchell, 301 A.D.2d 451, 755 N.Y.S.2d 366, 2003 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 390 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2003).

Pincite

Opinion

—Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Bonnie Wittner, J.), rendered July 6, 2000, convicting defendant, upon her plea of guilty, of manslaughter in the second degree, grand larceny in the second degree, and perjury in the first degree, and sentencing her to concurrent terms of 5 to 15 years, 5 to 15 years and 2V3 to 7 years, respectively, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant’s motion to dismiss based on preindictment delay [452]*452was properly denied (see People v Singer, 44 NY2d 241; see also United States v Lovasco, 431 US 783, 795-796). The People established good cause for the delay by detailing their extensive investigation into the intricate circumstantial evidence against defendant, including complex scientific and medical evidence. Given the nature of the evidence, the People were required to exercise great caution in deciding whether or not to commence a prosecution. It was reasonable under these circumstances for the People to spend lengthy periods of time pursuing aspects of the investigation that appeared to be promising but were ultimately fruitless. There was no indication that any of the delay was intended to gain tactical advantage or was otherwise motivated by bad faith. Therefore, the balancing of the reasons for the delay with all other relevant factors, including the lack of a showing of specific prejudice to defendant, establishes that defendant was not entitled to dismissal (see People v Rodriguez, 281 AD2d 375, lv denied 96 NY2d 906).

We perceive no basis for reducing the sentence. Concur— Mazzarelli, J.P., Saxe, Sullivan, Williams and Gonzalez, JJ.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

—Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Bonnie Wittner, J.), rendered July 6, 2000, convicting defendant, upon her plea of guilty, of manslaughter in the second degree, grand larceny in the second degree, and perjury in the first degree, and sentencing her to concurrent terms of 5 to 15 years, 5 to 15 years and 2V3 to 7 years, respectively, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant’s motion to dismiss based on preindictment delay [452]*452was properly denied (see People v Singer, 44 NY2d 241; see also United States v Lovasco, 431 US 783, 795-796). The People established good cause for the delay by detailing their extensive investigation into the intricate circumstantial evidence against defendant, including complex scientific and medical evidence. Given the nature of the evidence, the People were required to exercise great caution in deciding whether or not to commence a prosecution. It was reasonable under these circumstances for the People to spend lengthy periods of time pursuing aspects of the investigation that appeared to be promising but were ultimately fruitless. There was no indication that any of the delay was intended to gain tactical advantage or was otherwise motivated by bad faith. Therefore, the balancing of the reasons for the delay with all other relevant factors, including the lack of a showing of specific prejudice to defendant, establishes that defendant was not entitled to dismissal (see People v Rodriguez, 281 AD2d 375, lv denied 96 NY2d 906).

We perceive no basis for reducing the sentence. Concur— Mazzarelli, J.P., Saxe, Sullivan, Williams and Gonzalez, JJ.

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

301 A.D.2d 451, 755 N.Y.S.2d 366, 2003 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 390, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-mitchell-nyappdiv-2003.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack