People v. Zelmanowicz

93 Misc. 2d 491, 403 N.Y.S.2d 663, 1978 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2087
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 13, 1978
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 93 Misc. 2d 491 (People v. Zelmanowicz) 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. Zelmanowicz, 93 Misc. 2d 491, 403 N.Y.S.2d 663, 1978 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2087 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1978).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Lawrence J. Tonetti, J.

The defendant is charged in a multicount indictment with larcenies committed in the operation of a nursing home. He brings this motion to dismiss the indictment based upon an alleged violation of his Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination and to suppress evidence as a consequence of an alleged Fourth Amendment violation. The motion is decided as hereinafter indicated.

[493]*493THE FACTS

The relevant facts, as they apply to this motion, can be detailed in short order. In the course of an investigation concerning nursing homes owned and operated by the defendant, the Special Prosecutor issued a subpoena duces tecum requiring the defendant to produce certain of his books and records. Subsequently, a stipulation was entered into, allowing the defendant to produce a single book before the Grand Jury and granting the Special Prosecutor the right to inspect all others at the defendant’s place of business. This stipulation also stated that the defendant retained all rights as if he had turned over all of the books subpoenaed to the Grand Jury. On the return date of the subpoena, defendant Zelmanowicz appeared before the Grand Jury, turned over the one book pursuant to the stipulation, and stated his name and address for the record.

It should further be noted that subsequent to defendant’s Grand Jury appearance, the Court of Appeals decided Matter of Windsor Park Nursing Home v Hynes (42 NY2d 243) and Matter of Heisler v Hynes (42 NY2d 250). These two cases put in question the propriety of the Grand Jury or the Special Prosecutor’s office taking possession of subpoenaed material and form the basis of several of the defendant’s contentions.

I. FIFTH AMENDMENT ALLEGATIONS

The defendant asserts several grounds as violations of his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. The first of these assertions deals with the concept of "target” immunity. This concept, deriving from section 6 of article I of the New York State Constitution and case law construing it (see People v De Feo, 308 NY 595; People v Steuding, 6 NY2d 214; People v Laino, 10 NY2d 161; People v Yonkers Contr. Co., 17 NY2d 322), maintains that where the target of an investigation is called before a Grand Jury, rather than a mere witness, in order to compel testimony, an automatic grant of immunity must be conveyed.

Two factors militate decisively against the application of this principle to the instant case. Firstly, it is axiomatic that the immunity conferred must be coextensive with the privilege waived (Counselman v Hitehcock, 142 US 547). The question, therefore, becomes just what privilege was waived entitling the defendant to immunity? It has long been estab[494]*494lished that no privilege against self incrimination exists as to records required by law to be kept (Wilson v United States, 221 US 361). In fact, the Court of Appeals has applied this principle specifically to nursing homes’ books and records (Matter of Sigety v Hynes, 38 NY2d 260). Thus, as the production of the documents subpoenaed could be compelled without violating Mr. Zelmanowicz’ privilege against self incrimination, a grant of immunity coextensive with the privilege waived would result in no conference of immunity.

Secondly, this court is of the opinion that the concept of "target” immunity became extinct with the advent of the Criminal Procedure Law. All cases dealing with "target” immunity construe statutes that did not provide automatic immunity for compelled testimony. Typically, a subpoenaed party, regardless of whether he be a witness or possible defendant, would have to assert his privilege in response to a given question to gain immunity. Juxtaposed against these statutes was the State Constitution guaranteeing that "[n]o person shall * * * be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself’ (NY Const, art I, § 6). In order to reconcile the statutes and the State Constitution, the courts formulated the "target” immunity rule whereby a subpoenaed witness would have to assert his privilege but a "target” would receive automatic immunity, since he could not be compelled to be a witness against himself. Instructive in this area is the Court of Appeals decision in People v Steuding (supra), the lead cause on "target immunity”, which construes the old Penal Law. The court states in Steuding (p 217): "Section 2447 of the Penal Law, which prescribes the method by which an 'immunity’ may be conferred upon 'witnesses,’ is unquestionably constitutional and valid, insofar as it is applied to witnesses who are, in truth and fact, witnesses. The statute does not apply in terms to a defendant or to one who is in the shoes of a defendant, insofar as it provides that the burden is cast upon him of claiming privilege, and any attempt to invoke it against such a person would offend against the constitutional provision”.

CPL 190.40 confers automatic immunity for all compelled testimony regardless of the status of the party called. As there is no burden cast upon anyone to assert the privilege, it being automatically conferred, the provision of the former statute which offended the State Constitution with regard to "targets” has been eliminated and there is no viability for continuing [495]*495the dichotomy of treatment for "targets” as opposed to witnesses.

The defendant’s other Fifth Amendment arguments are based on the statute, CPL 190.40. The relevant portions of that statute are as follows: "2. A witness who gives evidence in a grand jury proceeding receives immunity unless: * * * (c) The evidence given by the witness consists only of books, papers, records or other physical evidence of an enterprise, * * * the production of which is required by subpoena duces tecum, and the witness does not possess a privilege against self-incrimination with respect to the production of such evidence. Any further evidence given by the witness entitles the witness to immunity”. The defendant does not claim a privilege with respect to the book (or by stipulation books) turned over. He does claim, however, that he gave "further evidence” and thus should receive immunity.

When the defendant appeared before the Grand Jury he turned over a book, stated his name and address and the terms of the stipulation. He now claims that the giving of his address constituted "further evidence” because the indictment charges a misappropriation of funds to this home address. In this court’s view, this statement was simply an identification of the book and the individual turning it over. Mere identification of records produced pursuant to a subpoena duces tecum does not violate the statute or the Fifth Amendment (People v MacLachlan, 58 AD2d 586; People v Kluger I, Supreme Ct, Rockland County, July 1, 1977, McNab, J.). The statutory provision contemplates "further evidence” that is self incriminatory and not that which is readily available by examination of The Bronx telephone directory.

The defendant’s second contention with regard to a statutory violation focuses on the Court of Appeals decision in Matter of Heisler v Hynes (42 NY2d 250, supra). In that case the Court of Appeals ruled that neither a Grand Jury nor a prosecutor could retain evidence pursuant to a subpoena duces tecum under the then existing statutes.

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Related

People v. Cooper
139 Misc. 2d 44 (New York County Courts, 1988)
People v. Martin Reitman & Claremont Chemists Corp.
128 Misc. 2d 744 (New York County Courts, 1985)
Hynes v. Doe
101 Misc. 2d 350 (New York Supreme Court, 1979)
People v. Perri
95 Misc. 2d 767 (New York Supreme Court, 1978)

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Bluebook (online)
93 Misc. 2d 491, 403 N.Y.S.2d 663, 1978 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2087, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-zelmanowicz-nysupct-1978.