You are here: / / THE ACCUSATORY INSTRUMENT CHARGING THE DEFENDANT WITH “FRAUDULENT...
,

THE ACCUSATORY INSTRUMENT CHARGING THE DEFENDANT WITH “FRAUDULENT ACCOSTING” WAS FACIALLY SUFFICIENT; IT WAS ENOUGH TO ALLEGE THAT DEFENDANT SPOKE FIRST TO PERSONS PASSING AROUND HIM ON THE SIDEWALK ASKING FOR DONATIONS FOR THE HOMELESS; THERE WAS NO NEED TO ALLEGE DEFENDANT WAS AGGRESSIVE OR PERSISTENT OR TARGETED AN INDIVIDUAL (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Garcia, over an extensive three-judge dissent, determined the accusatory instrument charging defendant with “fraudulent accosting” was facially sufficient. Defendant set up a couple of milk crates as a table in the sidewalk and asked people for donations to the homeless as they walked around the table. Defendant unsuccessfully argued the term “accost” required an element of aggressiveness or persistence directed toward an individual:

A person is guilty of fraudulent accosting when he or she “accosts a person in a public space with intent to defraud him of money or other property by means of a trick, swindle or confidence game” (Penal Law § 165.30 [1]). * * *

During the relevant period in 1952, when the legislature created the offense of fraudulent accosting … contemporary dictionaries defined “accost” to mean either to “approach,” to “speak to first,” or to “address” … .No dictionary cited from the relevant time period limits the term to an aggressive or persistent physical approach … . People v Mitchell, 2022 NY Slip Op 03360, Ct App 5-24-22

Practice Point: Here, to determine the meaning of the word “accost” as used in the “fraudulent accosting” statute, the Court of Appeals referred only to definitions of the word in dictionaries extant in 1952, when the statute was enacted. and ignored more recent definitions.

 

You might also like
14-Day Period for Notifying a Bank of Improperly Paid Items Reasonable Under the Facts
UNLIKE THE APPELLATE DIVISION, THE COURT OF APPEALS CANNOT CONSIDER UNPRESERVED ISSUES IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE; THE FAILURE TO RAISE THE ISSUE IN THE TRIAL COURT PRECLUDED REVIEW BY THE COURT OF APPEALS (CT APP). ​
Admission in Evidence of Defendant’s Statements About Prior Murders Did Not Rise to a Constitutional Injury—Harmless Error Doctrine Applied
Opposition to Additur or Remittitur After First Trial Can Not Be Appealed After Second Trial
THE DETECTIVE’S TESTIMONY AT THE SUPPRESSION HEARING THAT THE VEHICLE WAS PULLED OVER BECAUSE OF “EXCESSIVELY TINTED WINDOWS” WAS NOT SUFFICIENT TO DEMONSTRATE PROBABLE CAUSE FOR THE STOP; SUPPRESSION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (CT APP).
ALTHOUGH THE VILLAGE BUILT THE BRIDGE, THE VILLAGE NEVER IMPLEMENTED THE PROCEDURES IN THE VILLAGE CODE FOR ASSUMING CONTROL OVER THE BRIDGE, THEREFORE THE TOWN WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR REPAIR (CT APP).
Felony Convictions in Other Jurisdictions Need Not Have a New-York-Felony Counterpart to Be Considered Under the Persistent Felony Offender Statute
CERTAIN EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND COMMUNITY SUPERVISION (DOCCS) WERE NOT ENTITLED TO “PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE” DURING THE SUMMER OF 2020 PURSUANT TO THE “CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (CARES) ACT;” THE COURT’S ANALYSIS IS TOO DETAILED TO FAIRLY SUMMARIZE HERE (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

DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE CONVICTION OF THE B MISDEMEANORS WITH WHICH HE... ONLY AN EXPRESS ACKNOWLEDEMENT OF THE MORTGAGE DEBT PURSUANT TO GENERAL OBLIGATIONS...