You are here: / / NO APPEAL LIES FROM THE DENIAL OF A REPORTER’S MOTION TO QUASH SUBPOENAS...
, ,

NO APPEAL LIES FROM THE DENIAL OF A REPORTER’S MOTION TO QUASH SUBPOENAS ISSUED IN A CRIMINAL ACTION BECAUSE THERE IS NO STATUTORY AUTHORITY IN THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW FOR SUCH AN APPEAL, THE SUBPOENAS SOUGHT THE REPORTER’S APPEARANCE AT TRIAL AND NOTES OF THE REPORTER’S POST-ARREST INTERVIEW WITH THE DEFENDANT, IN CONTRAST, HAD THE SUBPOENAS BEEN ISSUED PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS, THE MOTION TO QUASH WOULD HAVE BEEN CIVIL IN NATURE AND THE DENIAL APPEALABLE (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, in a memorandum decision which sparked two dissenting opinions involving three judges, determined no appeal lies from the denial of a nonparty’s motion to quash a subpoena issued in a criminal action because there is no statutory authority for such an appeal. In contrast, the same motion brought prior to the commencement of a criminal action is civil in nature and is appealable. Here a reporter interviewed the defendant who had confessed in 2013 to the murder of a four-year-old girl in 1991. The reporter wrote a story stating that the defendant alleged his confession was not truthful. The subpoenas sought the appearance of the reporter at trial and the notes of the interview.  The trial court for the most part denied the motions to quash. The Appellate Division reversed without addressing the jurisdictional issue:

The critical distinction between orders addressing subpoenas that precede, as opposed to follow, the commencement of a criminal action is grounded in the plain language of the CPL, which governs “[a]ll criminal actions and proceedings” … . Specifically, a “criminal action commences . . . with the filing of an accusatory instrument against a defendant in a criminal court” … , and a “criminal proceeding” includes “any proceeding which (a) constitutes a part of a criminal action or (b) occurs in a criminal court and is related to a . . . criminal action . . . or involves a criminal investigation” … . Definitionally, an order resolving a motion to quash a subpoena that is issued prior to the filing of an accusatory instrument does not arise within the context of a “criminal action.” Moreover, while such an order may relate to a criminal investigation, when issued in a court of general jurisdiction prior to the commencement of a criminal action, it “arises . . . on the civil side of the court”… . Therefore, an order resolving a motion to quash a subpoena falls outside of the ambit of the CPL—and its concomitant limitations upon appellate review—when the order is issued before a criminal action begins. Review of an order issued in the investigatory stage does not undermine the legislative aim of “limit[ing] appellate proliferation in criminal matters”… insofar as appellate practice at this stage cannot be said to intrude significantly upon a criminal action that may never be commenced. The order here, however, issued after the accusatory instrument was filed, plainly arose in a “criminal action” within the meaning of that term as prescribed by the CPL. Matter of People v Juarez, 2018 NY Slip Op 04684, CtApp 6-27-18

​CRIMINAL LAW (NO APPEAL LIES FROM THE DENIAL OF A REPORTER’S MOTION TO QUASH SUBPOENAS ISSUED IN A CRIMINAL ACTION BECAUSE THERE IS NO STATUTORY AUTHORITY IN THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW FOR SUCH AN APPEAL, THE SUBPOENAS SOUGHT THE REPORTER’S APPEARANCE AT TRIAL AND NOTES OF THE REPORTER’S POST-ARREST INTERVIEW WITH THE DEFENDANT, IN CONTRAST, HAD THE SUBPOENAS BEEN ISSUED PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS, THE MOTION TO QUASH WOULD HAVE BEEN CIVIL IN NATURE AND THE DENIAL APPEALABLE (CT APP))/APPEALS (CRIMINAL LAW, SUBPOENAS, NO APPEAL LIES FROM THE DENIAL OF A REPORTER’S MOTION TO QUASH SUBPOENAS ISSUED IN A CRIMINAL ACTION BECAUSE THERE IS NO STATUTORY AUTHORITY IN THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW FOR SUCH AN APPEAL, THE SUBPOENAS SOUGHT THE REPORTER’S APPEARANCE AT TRIAL AND NOTES OF THE REPORTER’S POST-ARREST INTERVIEW WITH THE DEFENDANT, IN CONTRAST, HAD THE SUBPOENAS BEEN ISSUED PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS, THE MOTION TO QUASH WOULD HAVE BEEN CIVIL IN NATURE AND THE DENIAL APPEALABLE (CT APP))/CIVIL PROCEDURE (APPEALS, SUBPOENAS, NO APPEAL LIES FROM THE DENIAL OF A REPORTER’S MOTION TO QUASH SUBPOENAS ISSUED IN A CRIMINAL ACTION BECAUSE THERE IS NO STATUTORY AUTHORITY IN THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW FOR SUCH AN APPEAL, THE SUBPOENAS SOUGHT THE REPORTER’S APPEARANCE AT TRIAL AND NOTES OF THE REPORTER’S POST-ARREST INTERVIEW WITH THE DEFENDANT, IN CONTRAST, HAD THE SUBPOENAS BEEN ISSUED PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS, THE MOTION TO QUASH WOULD HAVE BEEN CIVIL IN NATURE AND THE DENIAL APPEALABLE (CT APP))/SUBPOENAS, MOTION TO QUASH (CRIMINAL LAW, APPEALS, NO APPEAL LIES FROM THE DENIAL OF A REPORTER’S MOTION TO QUASH SUBPOENAS ISSUED IN A CRIMINAL ACTION BECAUSE THERE IS NO STATUTORY AUTHORITY IN THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW FOR SUCH AN APPEAL, THE SUBPOENAS SOUGHT THE REPORTER’S APPEARANCE AT TRIAL AND NOTES OF THE REPORTER’S POST-ARREST INTERVIEW WITH THE DEFENDANT, IN CONTRAST, HAD THE SUBPOENAS BEEN ISSUED PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS, THE MOTION TO QUASH WOULD HAVE BEEN CIVIL IN NATURE AND THE DENIAL APPEALABLE (CT APP))/QUASH SUBPOENAS, MOTION TO (CRIMINAL LAW, APPEALS, NO APPEAL LIES FROM THE DENIAL OF A REPORTER’S MOTION TO QUASH SUBPOENAS ISSUED IN A CRIMINAL ACTION BECAUSE THERE IS NO STATUTORY AUTHORITY IN THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW FOR SUCH AN APPEAL, THE SUBPOENAS SOUGHT THE REPORTER’S APPEARANCE AT TRIAL AND NOTES OF THE REPORTER’S POST-ARREST INTERVIEW WITH THE DEFENDANT, IN CONTRAST, HAD THE SUBPOENAS BEEN ISSUED PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS, THE MOTION TO QUASH WOULD HAVE BEEN CIVIL IN NATURE AND THE DENIAL APPEALABLE (CT APP))

You might also like
No Notice of Claim Requirement for Human Rights Law Action Against City/Questions of Fact About City’s Motivation for Allowing Firefighter Promotion Eligibility Lists to Expire Precluded Summary Judgment in Favor of White Firefighters Alleging Reverse, Disparate Treatment Racial Discrimination
QUESTIONS OF FACT HAD BEEN RAISED IN PLAINTIFF’S MALICIOUS PROSECUTION AND FALSE ARREST ACTIONS AGAINST POLICE OFFICERS, DEFENSE SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED.
ALTHOUGH DEFENDANT DOCTOR PRACTICED IN THE BRONX FOR PART OF EACH WEEK, THE PRINCIPAL OFFICE OF HIS BUSINESS AND HIS RESIDENCE WERE IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY, WHERE PLAINTIFF WAS TREATED; SUPREME COURT PROPERLY GRANTED DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO CHANGE THE VENUE FROM BRONX TO WESTCHESTER COUNTY (CT APP).
LANDLORD, BY THE TERMS OF THE LEASE WHICH REQUIRED THE TENANT TO DO RENOVATION WORK, IS DEEMED TO HAVE CONSENTED TO THE WORK, THE CONTRACTOR THEREFORE HAD A VALID MECHANIC’S LIEN WITH RESPECT TO THE LANDLORD (CT APP).
IN THE CONTEXT OF DRIVING WITH A SUSPENDED LICENSE, THE COURT OF APPEALS EXPLAINED THE CRITERIA FOR A VALID MISDEMEANOR COMPLAINT, VERSUS A MISDEMEANOR INFORMATION (CT APP). ​
BEFORE ADMITTING NON-EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY TO IDENTIFY DEFENDANT IN A VIDEO, THE BASIS SHOULD BE DETERMINED OUTSIDE THE PRESENCE OF THE JURY, THE PARTY OFFERING THE WITNESS MUST DEMONSTRATE THE RELIABILITY OF THE WITNESS, AND THE NEED FOR THE TESTIMONY MUST BE DEMONSTRATED; IN ADDITION, A THOROUGH RECORD MUST BE CREATED AND THE JURY SHOULD BE INSTRUCTED THEY ARE FREE TO REJECT THE NON-EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION (CT APP). ​
Sexual Conduct That Does Not Rise to the Level of a SORA Sex Offense May Be Considered Under the “Number of Victims” Risk Factor
IN ORDER TO KNOWINGLY, VOLUNTARILY AND INTELLIGENTLY WAIVE THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL, THE DEFENDANT NEED NOT BE INFORMED OF HIS MAXIMUM SENTENCING EXPOSURE IN YEARS; THE “SPEEDY TRIAL” TIME ASSOCIATED WITH THE JOINDER OF A CO-DEFENDANT FOR TRIAL IS CHARGED TO THE DEFENDANT, EVEN WHERE THE DEFENDANT HAD NOT YET BEEN ARRAIGNED (CT APP).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

PLAINTIFFS’ CONCLUSORY ALLEGATION OF FRAUD DID NOT DEFEAT THE AGREEMENT TO... DEFENDANT’S SIGNING A WRITTEN WAIVER OF THE RIGHT TO AN INDICTMENT BY...