People v Mitchell (James)

[*1] People v Mitchell (James) 2013 NY Slip Op 51309(U) Decided on August 9, 2013 Appellate Term, First Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.

Decided on August 9, 2013
SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE TERM, FIRST DEPARTMENT
PRESENT: Hunter, Jr., J.P., Schoenfeld, Shulman, JJ
12-090.

The People of the State of New York, Respondent, - -

against

James Mitchell, Defendant-Appellant.

Defendant appeals from a judgment of the Criminal Court of the City of New York, New York County (Gerald Lebovits, J.), rendered September 7, 2011, convicting him, upon a plea of guilty, of criminal possession of marijuana in the fifth degree and imposing sentence.

Per Curiam:

Judgment of conviction (Gerald Lebovits, J.), rendered September 7, 2011, reversed, on the law, and accusatory instrument dismissed.

As the People correctly concede, the absence from the accusatory instrument of any allegations referencing the date or time of the underlying incident rendered the pleading jurisdictionally defective, thus requiring the vacatur of defendant's guilty plea and dismissal of the charges. In its incomplete form, the accusatory instrument failed to satisfy its dual purpose of informing defendant of "the nature of the charge against him and of the act constituting it, not only to enable him to prepare for trial, but also to prevent him from again being tried for the same offense" (People v Zambounis, 251 NY 94, 96 [1929]; see People v Casey, 95 NY2d 354, 360 [2000]).

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT.
I concurI concurI concur
Decision Date: August 09, 2013