2012 New York Consolidated Laws
CPL - Criminal Procedure
Part 2 - THE PRINCIPAL PROCEEDINGS
Title H - PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS IN LOCAL CRIMINAL COURT
Article 170 - (170.10 - 170.70) PROCEEDINGS UPON INFORMATION, SIMPLIFIED TRAFFIC INFORMATION, PROSECUTOR'S INFORMATION AND MISDEMEANOR COMPLAINT FROM ARRAIGNMENT TO PLEA
170.65 - Replacement of misdemeanor complaint by information and waiver thereof.

 
  §  170.65 Replacement of misdemeanor complaint by information and waiver
          thereof.
    1.  A defendant against whom a misdemeanor complaint is pending is not
  required to enter a plea thereto.   For purposes  of  prosecution,  such
  instrument must, except as provided in subdivision three, be replaced by
  an  information,  and  the  defendant must be arraigned thereon.  If the
  misdemeanor complaint is supplemented by  a  supporting  deposition  and
  such  instruments  taken  together  satisfy the requirements for a valid
  information, such misdemeanor complaint is deemed to have been converted
  to and to constitute a replacing information.
    2.  An information which replaces a  misdemeanor  complaint  need  not
  charge the same offense or offenses, but at least one count thereof must
  charge  the commission by the defendant of an offense based upon conduct
  which was the subject of the misdemeanor complaint.   In  addition,  the
  information  may,  subject  to  the  rules  of joinder, charge any other
  offense which the factual  allegations  thereof  or  of  any  supporting
  depositions  accompanying  it  are  legally  sufficient to support, even
  though such offense is not based upon conduct which was the  subject  of
  the misdemeanor complaint.
    3.    A  defendant who has been arraigned upon a misdemeanor complaint
  may waive prosecution by information and consent to be  prosecuted  upon
  the  misdemeanor  complaint.    In  such  case,  the  defendant  must be
  required, either upon the date of the waiver or subsequent  thereto,  to
  enter a plea to the misdemeanor complaint.