People v. WilliamsPeople v. Williams
Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Broome County (Joseph F. Cawley, J.), rendered July 29, 2021, upon a verdict convicting defendant of the crime of assault in the second degree (two counts).
On March 28, 2019, defendant was charged by felony complaint with attempted murder in the second degree and assault in the first degree upon allegations that he attacked his then-girlfriend and infant son with a knife. A grand jury indictment was handed up on May 13, 2019 charging defendant with only assault in the first degree and the People declared their readiness for trial that day. This indictment was dismissed on October 21, 2019 with leave to re-present. On December 3, 2019, another indictment was handed up charging defendant with two counts of assault in the first degree based upon the same incident, and the People again declared their readiness.
Effective January 1, 2020, the Legislature “enacted sweeping reforms that expanded and restructured disclosure obligations in criminal cases,” the parameters of which the Court of Appeals recently reviewed in People v Bay (___ NY3d ___, ___, 2023 NY Slip Op 06407, *1 [Dec. 14, 2023]; see L 2019, ch 59, § 1, pt LLL).
In Bay, the Court explained that the disclosure mandate of CPL article 245 does not create a “rule of strict liability” or require a “perfect prosecutor” (People v Bay, 2023 NY Slip Op 06407 at *2 [internal quotation marks omitted]). “On the other hand, the plain terms of the statute make clear that while good faith is required, it is not sufficient standing alone and cannot cure a lack of diligence” (id. [citations omitted]). Rather, “the key question in determining if a proper COC has been filed is whether the prosecution has exercised due diligence and made reasonable inquiries to ascertain the existence of material and information subject to discovery” (id. [internal quotation marks, brackets and citation omitted]). The People bear the burden in this regard and the standard is one of “reasonableness,” i.e.,
These amendments “became applicable to pending actions as soon as [they] became effective” (People v King, 216 AD3d 1400, 1403 [4th Dept 2023] [internal quotation marks, brackets and citation omitted]; see People v Robbins, 206 AD3d 1069, 1072 [3d Dept 2022], lv denied 39 NY3d 942 [2022]), but did “not invalidate the People‘s previous statements of readiness — i.e., those previous statements, so long as not illusory, remain[ed] effective to stop the speedy trial calculation during the pre-amendment period” (People v King, 216 AD3d at 1406 [internal quotation marks and citation omitted]; see People v Robbins, 206 AD3d at 1072). Stated differently, the speedy trial analysis includes both the pre-amendment and post-amendment phase, with the People reverting back to a state of unreadiness as of January 1, 2020 if they did not previously file a valid COC.
While the disclosure obligations of CPL article 245 are now automatic and obviate the need to file a demand (see People ex rel. Ferro v Brann, 197 AD3d 787, 787 [2d Dept 2021], lv denied 38 NY3d 909 [2022]), defendant nevertheless did so on January 6, 2020, requesting, among other things: (1) the “names and adequate contact information for all persons other than law enforcement personnel whom the prosecutor knows to have evidence or information relevant to any offense charged or any potential defense thereto” (
The record demonstrates that the People provided extensive discovery to the defense following the initial March 2019 indictment. At a court appearance on January 21, 2020, defendant acknowledged receiving “discovery on the first grand jury that came through” but advised that discovery remained outstanding relative to the January 6, 2020 demand and defendant was unable to consider a pending plea offer. The prosecutor in attendance, who was filling in for the Senior Assistant District Attorney assigned to
On February 28, 2020, the People filed a COC certifying compliance with their statutory disclosure obligations and declaring their readiness for trial. A disclosure statement submitted therewith explained, as relevant here, that the statement made by defendant, as well as the names and contact information of all non-law enforcement personnel with information relevant to the case, had previously been disclosed in the police reports and other materials. The disclosure statement also listed the name of an expert medical witness the People intended to call at trial — certifying that they had provided defense counsel with a copy of the expert‘s grand jury testimony as well as the medical records pertaining to the victims — stated that tapes of a 911 call and all photographs had previously been provided and maintained that there was “no current record of convictions for any of the non-expert witnesses indicated above.”
At the next court appearance on March 6, 2020, defense counsel argued that the COC was illusory because the People had not complied with their full discovery obligations. Declining counsel‘s offer to go through the “specifics” of what was missing, County Court adjourned the matter for 10 days to see if the parties could resolve the issue. On March 12, 2020, the People filed an amended/supplemental COC again certifying that they had complied with their discovery obligations and declaring their readiness. As relevant here, the accompanying disclosure statement stated that the December 3, 2019 grand jury minutes were provided to the defense on March 3, 2020, that all statements, “including all police reports, notes of police and other investigators, and law enforcement agency reports” had previously been provided “by hard copy on or about April 19, 2019,” that all photographs had also been provided in April 2019 and again on February 28, 2020, as had a copy of the search warrant and search warrant return, that the People were awaiting the CV of the expert they had previously disclosed, which would be provided upon receipt, and revealed that they were not in possession of the criminal histories of any of the witnesses “but [would] provide them to defendant at a later date, should such records exist.” The next day, defense counsel sent an email to the prosecutor reminding him that the contact information for the adult victim was still outstanding, as were additional expert disclosures and the criminal history
On March 16, 2020, defendant filed an omnibus motion objecting to the February 2020 COC2 and seeking various relief, including suppression of certain evidence and a review of the grand jury minutes. At a court appearance that day, the prosecutor represented that all discovery had been disclosed “with the exception of a few items,” including the expert‘s CV and the criminal history reports of any non-expert witnesses. When defense counsel reminded the prosecutor that the adult victim‘s contact information was also outstanding, the prosecutor explained the circumstances surrounding the delay, noting that he and defense counsel had initially discussed a proposal under which the contact information would be disclosed to counsel upon an agreement not to share it with defendant. However, after that conversation, the prosecutor “actually had contact with the victim,” who “expressed a great deal of fear and concern.” Upon hearing this explanation, County Court informed the prosecutor that he would need to file a motion for a protective order to withhold such information (
Both parties take the position that a March 20, 2020 Executive Order issued by then-Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in response to the COVID-19 pandemic effectively suspended the speedy trial time limitations set forth in
In opposition, the People argued that they had made good faith/reasonable efforts to comply with their discovery obligations without elaboration. They further averred that they had “turned over to defense counsel all discoverable items
In November 2020, while a decision on defendant‘s motion to strike was pending, a new prosecutor was assigned to the case and produced a trove of discovery, including the adult victim‘s phone number.3 On February 15, 2021, defense counsel sent an email to the new prosecutor noting that, notwithstanding the November 2020 disclosure, certain materials remained outstanding, including, among other things, the expert‘s CV, criminal history reports of the adult victim and another witness, and any lab reports for “either the blood, DNA, or the knife” found at the crime scene. The new prosecutor responded three days later, explaining, as relevant here, that “we‘ve reached out to [United Healthcare System] Wilson to try to contact [the expert to obtain his CV]. I will send it over as soon as I receive it, but it‘s my understanding that [CPL article 245] allows this information to be provided up until 60 days before trial.” As for the criminal history record pertaining to the adult victim, the prosecutor stated that he was “not sure if this was or wasn‘t provided previously” but he had “prepared a .pdf document which provides this info. She had no history when I checked it.” This email did not set forth any information regarding the criminal history records of the additional witness defense counsel had inquired about. As for the lab reports, the prosecutor explained: “with [CPL article] 245‘s onset the manner through which we check for lab reports has changed to an automated system . . . . I have checked this system and it returned ‘no results.’ I think I am checking properly but I will call to follow up to confirm this ‘no results’ [finding].”
Thereafter, on February 22, 2021, the People filed another COC, with a statement of readiness, certifying that they had complied with their discovery obligations. On February 26, 2021, County Court denied defendant‘s June 2020 motion to strike the February 2020 COC,4 explaining that CPL article 245 “does not require the disclosure of ALL materials before a proper [COC] and statement of trial readiness can be filed, nor does it require the striking of a [COC] if ALL discoverable material has not been disclosed.” The court ultimately concluded that the People made “reasonable and appropriate efforts to comply with their [d]iscovery obligations” and had filed the February 2020 COC in good faith.
On
County Court denied defendant‘s motion, finding that, at most, 147 days of chargeable time accrued between the commencement of the action and the filing of the first COC on February 28, 2020, bringing the People within the six-month speedy trial window applicable in this case. Although the court recognized that the February 2020 COC was filed with certain discovery outstanding, it noted that the exchange of discovery is an ongoing process and found that the People filed the certificate in good faith upon reasonable efforts to comply with their discovery obligations. The court further concluded that invalidating the February 2020 COC would be too drastic a sanction for any violation of CPL article 245. The case ultimately proceeded to a jury trial, after which defendant was convicted of two counts of the lesser included offense of assault in the second degree. He was sentenced to concurrent prison terms of seven years, with three years of postrelease supervision. Defendant appeals.
Defendant argues that County Court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the indictment on statutory speedy trial grounds. Defendant having been charged with a felony, the People had six months from March 28, 2019 — the date the felony complaint was filed — to declare their readiness for trial, amounting to 184 days (
As for the period before January 1, 2020, the People concede, and we agree, that 89 days of chargeable time accrued between the filing of the felony complaint on March 28, 2019, and the filing of the second indictment, with the accompanying
While recognizing that the People belatedly provided certain discovery, County Court concluded that the People satisfied the good faith/due diligence statutory standard in filing the February 28, 2020 COC. We agree with that assessment. “Although belated disclosure will not necessarily establish a lack of due diligence or render an initial COC improper, post-filing disclosure and a supplemental COC cannot compensate for a failure to exercise diligence before the initial COC is filed” (People v Bay, 2023 NY Slip Op 06407 at *6;
Finally, we reject defendant‘s contention that the sentence imposed is unduly harsh and severe (
Pritzker, Reynolds Fitzgerald, McShan and Powers, JJ., concur.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.