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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). ​

The Court of Appeals, affirming the convictions by guilty pleas to misdemeanor complaints, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Troutman, determined the factual allegations in the complaints were sufficient. The defendants were charged with driving with a suspended license and argued the complaints did not demonstrate reasonable cause to believe they knew they their licenses had been suspended:

The misdemeanor complaints here satisfy the reasonable cause standard. The complaints “state[d] the time, date and location of the[ ] events,” and otherwise “provide[d] [defendants] with enough information” of how defendants committed the crime “to put [them] on notice of the crime” and “to prevent defendant[s] from facing double jeopardy on the same charges” … . Defendants knew from the complaints what they were accused of doing and where, when, and how they allegedly did it. Based on the complaints’ allegations, defendants could assess what defenses were available to them, such as contending that they never knew their licenses were suspended, that they were never served with a summons, or that the summonses didn’t warn them that their licenses would be suspended if they failed to respond.

… [D]efendants contend that the complaints failed to provide reasonable cause because they did not specifically allege that defendants personally received the summonses. * * * … [T]he numerous summonses issued to each defendant are sufficient to convince a person of ordinary intelligence, judgment, and experience that it is reasonably likely defendants received at least one of them. …

… [D]efendants’ consent to prosecution by misdemeanor complaint relieved the People of their obligation under a misdemeanor information to proffer “[n]on-hearsay allegations establishing every element of each charge” … . Although that obligation—known as “the prima facie case requirement”—applies to an information, “[a] misdemeanor complaint, in comparison, need only set forth facts that establish reasonable cause to believe that the defendant committed the charged offense” … .

Nor were the complaints deficient simply because they did not explain how the officers knew about suspension warnings appearing on traffic summonses or about those suspensions occurring automatically (by computer) within four weeks of a defendant’s failure to answer those summonses. We do not require complaints to contain such “formulaic recitation” … . Moreover, at this stage, the officers’ statements about summonses “appear[] reliable” … , inasmuch as the law tasks officers with delivering traffic summonses to alleged violators … . People v Willis, 2025 NY Slip Op 01405. CtApp 3-13-25

Practice Point: Consult this decision for an explanation of the criteria for a valid misdemeanor complaint, versus a misdemeanor information.

 

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