People v. Storey

182 Misc. 2d 365, 701 N.Y.S.2d 248, 1999 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 473
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 8, 1999
StatusPublished

This text of 182 Misc. 2d 365 (People v. Storey) 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. Storey, 182 Misc. 2d 365, 701 N.Y.S.2d 248, 1999 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 473 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1999).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Gusten L. Reichbach, J.

Under what authority, if any, may the court issue a securing order holding a defendant on bail after dismissal of an indictment after trial? Until either the Court of Appeals resolves an [366]*366apparent difference amongst the Appellate Divisions or the Legislature amends the Criminal Procedure Law to fill what may be a gap in the authority of the trial court to issue a securing order in such circumstances, the court finds that Judiciary Law § 2-b (3) conveys appropriate authority to issue a securing order setting bail on the defendant in this case.

On November 5, 1998, a Grand Jury returned indictment No. 10552/98, charging the defendant with two counts of murder in the second degree and one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. An initial trial of this indictment resulted in a hung jury on all counts submitted. In the retrial before this court, the jury acquitted the defendant of the three charges contained in the indictment, but could not reach a verdict on the separately submitted, lesser included counts of manslaughter in the first and second degrees. t

The defendant moves to dismiss these counts and prohibit a retrial. The District Attorney initially sought an immediate retrial of the two counts of manslaughter.

It is apparent that pursuant to the authority of People v Mayo (48 NY2d 245, 253), indictment No. 10552/98 must be formally dismissed with leave to seek a new indictment on the manslaughter charges.

The two counts on which a jury could not reach a verdict, manslaughter in the first and second degrees, were submitted lesser included counts. CPL 310.70 (2) permits retrial of the defendant “for any submitted offense upon which the jury was unable to agree.”1 These remaining counts however were not the counts for which the defendant was indicted. Since the defendant was acquitted of all charges for which he was indicted, any retrial of this indictment would be barred under settled double jeopardy principles. (People v Mayo, supra.) Thus, a retrial of these unindicted lesser included charges cannot take place pursuant to indictment No. 10552/98. (People v Carswell, 120 Misc 2d 274; see also, People v Bradley, 88 NY2d 901, 904 [1996].)

In Mayo (supra), the defendant was initially brought to trial under a single-count indictment charging him with robbery in the first degree. The Trial Judge, while declining to dismiss the indictment, removed robbery in the first degree from the case and instructed the jury that it could find the defendant [367]*367guilty only of the lesser included offenses of robbery in the second degree or robbery in the third degree. The jury could not reach a verdict on those counts so the People elected to bring the defendant to trial a second time under the original indictment. The trial court again instructed the jury that they could not consider the robbery one charge and this time the jury convicted the defendant of robbery in the second degree. Opining that the defendant “could have been retried and convicted under a properly drawn indictment charging him only with the lesser included crimes of robbery in the second and third degrees” the Court reversed the conviction and formally dismissed the indictment. (People v Mayo, supra, at 249.)

In People v Fudger (73 AD2d 1020 [3d Dept 1980]), while expressing unhappiness with the holding of Mayo (supra) based on considerations of judicial economy, the Third Department acknowledged it was obliged to follow the requirements of Mayo and vacate a conviction and dismiss an indictment under similar circumstances. In Fudger (supra) the defendant was indicted on a single count of arson in the third degree. The defendant was acquitted of that charge but the jury could not agree on the lesser included count of arson in the fourth degree. In vacating the conviction for arson in the fourth degree upon retrial, the Third Department, while finding double jeopardy was not implicated, nevertheless acknowledged that Mayo “makes it plain that the original indictment cannot serve as the basis for further prosecution under these circumstances.” (People v Fudger, supra, at 1021.) Similarly, in People v Carswell (120 Misc 2d 274 [Sup Ct, Kings County 1983], supra) the defendant was indicted on three counts. One count was dismissed prior to submission and the jury acquitted on the two remaining counts for which defendant had been indicted. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on three of the four lesser included counts which had also been submitted to it. The court observed that under Mayo “there was nothing left of [the original] indictment * * * after the actions of the jury and * * * [t]he sole course of action” (citing People v Mayo, supra) was to “obtain a new indictment” on the lesser included charges. (People v Carswell, supra, at 277.)

In the instant case, the defendant was indicted on three counts. The defendant was acquitted of those three counts and any retrial pursuant to that indictment would violate the defendant’s double jeopardy rights. If the People wish to further prosecute on those counts on which the jury had not been [368]*368able to reach a verdict (manslaughter in the first degree and manslaughter in the second degree) they would have to obtain a new indictment. The court is obliged to and formally dismisses indictment No. 10552/98.2

Upon the court issuing its order in this regard, the People moved for a securing order pursuant to CPL 210.45 (9). That section reads: “9. When the court dismisses the entire indictment but authorizes resubmission of the charge or charges to a grand jury, such authorization is, for purposes of this subdivision, deemed to constitute an order holding the defendant for the action of a grand jury with respect to such charge or charges. Such order must be accompanied by a securing order either releasing the defendant on his own recognizance or fixing bail or committing him to the custody of the sheriff pending resubmission of the case to the grand jury and the grand jury’s disposition thereof.”

CPL article 210 concerns proceedings in superior court from filing of indictment to plea. CPL 210.20 through 210.45 outline the procedures for pretrial motions to dismiss an indictment. CPL 210.20 sets forth the grounds upon which an indictment can be dismissed prior to trial. CPL 210.20 (4) specifically delineates the four grounds for dismissal that permit resubmission to a new Grand Jury: (a) indictment defective; (b) evidence before Grand Jury not legally sufficient; (c) Grand Jury proceeding defective; and (d) dismissal in interest of justice. CPL 210.45 sets forth the procedures when a motion to dismiss is made and permits, pursuant to CPL 210.45 (9), the issuance of a securing order when the entire indictment is dismissed and resubmission is authorized. However, what is at issue in this case is a posttrial not pretrial dismissal.

The District Attorney relies on CPL 210.45 (9) to seek a securing order based on the court authorizing resubmission. However, resubmission herein is not on any of the grounds authorized in CPL 210.20 (4).

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

Related

Bruton v. United States
391 U.S. 123 (Supreme Court, 1968)
United States v. Payne
832 F. Supp. 594 (E.D. New York, 1993)
People v. Mayo
397 N.E.2d 1166 (New York Court of Appeals, 1979)
A. G. Ship Maintenance Corp. v. Lezak
503 N.E.2d 681 (New York Court of Appeals, 1986)
People v. Ricardo B.
535 N.E.2d 1336 (New York Court of Appeals, 1989)
People v. Bradley
669 N.E.2d 815 (New York Court of Appeals, 1996)
People v. Fudger
73 A.D.2d 1020 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1980)
People v. Suarez
148 A.D.2d 367 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1989)
People v. Jones
148 A.D.2d 547 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1989)
People v. Wallace
153 A.D.2d 59 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1989)
People v. Melendez
227 A.D.2d 646 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1996)
People v. Carswell
120 Misc. 2d 274 (New York Supreme Court, 1983)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
182 Misc. 2d 365, 701 N.Y.S.2d 248, 1999 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 473, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-storey-nysupct-1999.