The People v. Matthew P.

44 N.E.3d 149, 26 N.Y.3d 332, 23 N.Y.S.3d 74
CourtNew York Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 19, 2015
DocketNo.154
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 44 N.E.3d 149 (The People v. Matthew P.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
The People v. Matthew P., 44 N.E.3d 149, 26 N.Y.3d 332, 23 N.Y.S.3d 74 (N.Y. 2015).

Opinions

OPINION OF THE COURT

Stein, J.

In this appeal, we are asked to consider whether our decision in People v Hightower (18 NY3d 249 [2011]) precludes the larceny prosecution of a defendant who, in exchange for a fee, used a stolen New York City Transit Authority (hereinafter NYCTA) key to allow two individuals to enter the subway system through an emergency exit gate. Inasmuch as High-tower is distinguishable and does not bar prosecution under the circumstances of this case, the Appellate Term properly upheld defendant’s conviction. We, therefore, affirm.

L

In June 2011, defendant was charged, by misdemeanor information, with petit larceny, among other crimes. The factual portion of the information alleged that defendant approached two undercover transit police officers inside a subway station and said, “you have $2, I will let you in.” Upon defendant’s receipt of payment, the officers saw him “take a key, open the emergency exit gate and allow [the officers] and defendant through said gate into the subway system, thereby depriving the [NYCTA] of revenue otherwise owed it by the defendant for access to the subway system.” The deponent officer picked up the key from the ground where she saw defendant throw it; defendant then told the officer, “if I told the guy that taught me this he would laugh at me, I should have known you were both cops.” Based upon her training and experience, the deponent [335]*335officer stated that only NYCTA employees have permission to possess such a key, and that defendant did not have permission or authority to take the key or use it.

Defendant pleaded guilty to petit larceny under the information; he also pleaded guilty to theft of services under a second information. As agreed, he received youthful offender treatment and an aggregate sentence of 15 days in jail. On his appeal, the Appellate Term affirmed, rejecting defendant’s challenge to the information charging him with petit larceny as jurisdictionally defective (41 Misc 3d 128[A], 2013 NY Slip Op 51681[U] [App Term, 1st Dept 2013]). A Judge of this Court granted defendant leave to appeal (23 NY3d 1024 [2014]).

IL

It is well settled that “ ‘[a] valid and sufficient accusatory instrument is a nonwaivable jurisdictional prerequisite to a criminal prosecution’ ” (People v Dreyden, 15 NY3d 100, 103 [2010], quoting People v Case, 42 NY2d 98, 99 [1977]; see People v Kalin, 12 NY3d 225, 229 [2009]). To be legally sufficient, “the factual portion of a local criminal court information” must meet the requirements

“that it state Tacts of an evidentiary character supporting or tending to support the charges’ (CPL 100.15 [3]; see, CPL 100.40 [1] [a]); that the ‘allegations of the factual part. . . together with those of any supporting depositions . . . provide reasonable cause to believe that the defendant committed the offense charged’ (CPL 100.40 [1] [b]); and that the ‘[n] on-hearsay allegations [of the information and supporting depositions] establish, if true, every element of the offense charged and the defendant’s commission thereof’ (CPL 100.40 [1] [c]; see, CPL 100.15 [3])” (People v Casey, 95 NY2d 354, 360 [2000]).

A failure to comply with either the reasonable cause requirement of section 100.40 (1) (b) or the prima facie case requirement of section 100.40 (1) (c) constitutes a jurisdictional defect (see Hightower, 18 NY3d at 254; People v Jones, 9 NY3d 259, 262-263 [2007]).

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Bluebook (online)
44 N.E.3d 149, 26 N.Y.3d 332, 23 N.Y.S.3d 74, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-people-v-matthew-p-ny-2015.