People v. Dawson
| Decision Date | 02 June 1960 |
| Parties | PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Francis DAWSON, Appellant. |
| Court | New York County Court |
Donald M. Palmer, Watertown, for appellant.
Angus G. Saunders, Dist. Atty., Jefferson County, Watertown, for the People.
The defendant was convicted of disorderly conduct, in violation of Section 720 of the Penal Law, upon a plea of guilty before the Honorable Frank E. Smith, Justice of the Peace, of the Town of Brownville, on March 12, 1960. Judgment was entered on that date, and the defendant has appealed.
In substance, the defendant alleges that the information did not properly charge the crime for which he was convicted, and that it was jurisdictionally defective.
Pertinent portions of the information read as follows:
'That one Francis Dawson, on the 12th day of March, 1960, at the Dawson Home, in the Town of Brownville, County of Jefferson, N. Y., at about 8:00 o'clock in the forenoon of said day, did commit the crime of Disorderly Conduct, Viol Sec. 720 of the Penal Law, State N.Y. against the person or property of Anna Dawson by wrongfully, unlawfully, willfully, corruptly, falsely, maliciously and knowingly did slap me in the face, pulled my hair and hit me in the back with his stub arm, without just case or provocation.'
The term 'any place' has been held to mean any public place, and to exclude private home of complainant. People v. Douglas, Co.Ct., 29 N.Y.S.2d 206.
In People v. Trumble, 147 Misc. 727, 264 N.Y.S. 576, it was stated that the use of offensive language on one's own premises does not constitute a violation of Section 720 unless that person communicates it to the public; for example, shouts of offensive language from a window on a public street, and thus annoys and disturbs some person or persons who are within hearing of the voice.
Obviously, the information here sets forth that any acts or conduct that took place were in the home of the complainant. It does not allege that the occurrences were within the sight or the hearing of any person or persons other than the defendant and the complainant.
The information must be sufficient alone, without resort to testimony or record of evidence, to inform defendant of the nature of the charge against him and of the act constituting it, not only to enable him to prepare for the trial but also to prevent him from again being tried for the same offense. People v. Zambounis, 251 N.Y. 94, 167 N.E. 183. The information must...
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State v. Robinson
...'The term 'any place' has been held to mean any public place, and to exclude the private home of complainant.' People v. Dawson, 23 Misc.2d 102, 200 N.Y.S.2d 974 (N.Y.); 27 C.J.S. Disorderly Conduct § 1(3) n. 60, p. 513. The courts of New York, in a long line of decisions where guilt of dis......
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People v. Fox
...conduct occurs in a secluded, private place, remote from the eyes and ears of the public, there is no disorderly conduct . People v. Dawson, Co.Ct., 200 N.Y.S.2d 974; People v. Krull, 18 Misc.2d 1027, 194 N.Y.S.2d 75 and People v. Chase, 13 Misc.2d 300, 178 N.Y.S.2d 19, cited by defendant, ......