Reference to Statute Cured Any Omissions from the Description of the Elements of the Offense Charged in a Superior Court Information

The Third Department noted that a Superior Court Information (SCI) charging aggravated unlicensed operation was sufficient even though it did not state the road upon which defendant was driving was a public highway because the SCI specifically referenced Vehicle and Traffic Law 511 (3) (a) and therefore incorporated all the elements of the crime:

…[D]efendant argues that the SCI failed to allege all material elements of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree because the People did not state that the crime occurred on a public highway (see Vehicle and Traffic Law § 511 [3] [a]). While this claim survives defendant’s guilty plea and appeal waiver …, no defect exists when the SCI incorporates elements by specific reference to the crime’s relevant statutory authority, because such incorporation “constitute[s] allegations of all the elements of the crime” …, while also giving the defendant “fair notice of the charges made against him [or her]” … . Here, although the SCI failed to state that the road on which defendant was driving was a public highway, it specifically referenced Vehicle and Traffic Law § 511 (3) (a) and, as such, sufficiently incorporated all of the specific elements of the crime. People v Brothers, 2014 NY Slip Op 08682, 3rd Dept 12-11-14