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
Issuer of Excess Policy Was Required (by the Terms of the Policy) to Pay “All Sums,” Including Interest, Over and Above the Policy-Limit Paid Out Under the Primary Policy
MANUFACTURER’S DUTY TO WARN EXTENDS TO JOINT USE OF ITS PRODUCT AND A PRODUCT MANUFACTURED BY A THIRD PARTY.
Unclear Record Re: Whether Defense Counsel Was Apprised of the Complete Contents of a Jury-Request for Instructions Combined with the Judge’s Failure to Address One Aspect of the Request Constituted a “Mode of Proceedings” Error
MENTAL HEALTH LEGAL SERVICES DOES NOT HAVE STANDING TO SEEK A WRIT OF MANDAMUS TO COMPEL A HOSPITAL TO COMPLY WITH THE MENTAL HYGIENE LAW PROCEDURE WHEN A PATIENT REQUESTS AN ADMISSION OR RETENTION HEARING (CT APP).
THE COURT OF APPEALS, OVERRULING PRECEDENT, DETERMINED THE AUTOPSY REPORTS WERE “TESTIMONIAL” IN NATURE AND SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ADMITTED THROUGH AN EXPERT WHO DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE AUTOPSIES; ADMISSION OF THE REPORTS AND THE EXPERT’S TESTIMONY VIOLATED DEFENDANT’S RIGHT TO CONFRONT THE WITNESSES AGAINST HIM (CT APP).
HEALTH INSURANCE CARRIER WHICH ERRONEOUSLY PAID INJURED PARTY’S NO-FAULT BENEFITS CAN NOT RECOVER FROM THE NO-FAULT CARRIER.
NO OUT-OF-POCKET LOSS ALLEGED, FRAUDULENT INDUCEMENT CAUSE OF ACTION PROPERLY DISMISSED FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CAUSE OF ACTION.
Multi-million Dollar Legal Malpractice Action Stemming from Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Dismissed

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 © 2025 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...