Motion Papers Sufficient to Warrant a Probable Cause Hearing, Criteria Described

The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant’s motion papers were sufficient to warrant a probable cause hearing. No affidavit from the defendant is required. The Fourth Department explained the analytical criteria:

As the People correctly concede, the court erred in determining that defendant was not entitled to a hearing because his motion papers did not include an affidavit from defendant (see CPL 710.60 [1]…). The court also erred in determining that the factual assertions contained in defendant’s moving papers were insufficient to warrant a hearing.

In determining whether a hearing is required pursuant to CPL 710.60, “the sufficiency of defendant’s factual allegations should be evaluated by (1) the face of the pleadings, (2) assessed in conjunction with the context of the motion, and (3) defendant’s access to information” … . Here, considering defendant’s limited access to information regarding the basis for the actions of the arresting officers, he “could do little more than dispute the circumstances surrounding his arrest . . . [D]efendant’s lack of access to information precluded more specific factual allegations and created factual disputes, the resolution of which required a hearing” … . People v Jones, 2015 NY Slip Op 07392, 4th Dept 10-9-15