People v. Johnston

• Decision Date: 01 February 1907
• Citation: 187 N.Y. 319,79 N.E. 1018
• Parties: PEOPLE v. JOHNSTON.
• Court: New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

187 N.Y. 319

79 N.E. 1018

PEOPLE

v.JOHNSTON.

Court of Appeals of New York.

Feb. 1, 1907.

Appeal from Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department.

Edward T. Johnston was convicted of petit larceny. From a judgment (99 N. Y. Supp. 411,112 App. Div. 812) of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, affirming a judgment of the County Court of Warren county, modifying and affirming a judgment of a Court of Special Sessions, defendant appeals. Dismissed.

Adam Armstrong, for appellant.

William L. Kiley, Dist. Atty.

(Daniel J. Finn, of counsel), for the people.

VANN, J.

On March 3, 1905, the defendant was convicted of the crime of petit larceny by a Court of Special Sessions held in the village of Glens Falls and sentenced to the Albany penitentiary for the term of 61 days. An appeal was allowed to the County Court of Warren county, which modified the judgment by reducing the sentence to a fine of $50, and as thus modified the judgment of the Court of Special Sessions was affirmed. A further appeal was taken by the defendant to the Appellate Division, which affirmed the judgment of the County Court. The defendant then served a notice of appeal to this court and the case, when reached on the calendar, was submitted without argument.

As a general rule, with one limitation not now important, we have no jurisdiction to hear an appeal from a judgment rendered by the Appellate Division in a criminal action which originated in a Court of Special Sessions. People ex rel. Com'rs of Charities v. Cullen, 151 N. Y. 54, 59,45 N. E. 401. The apparent inconsistency between the case cited and a case with the same title reported in 153 N. Y. 629, 47 N. E. 894,44 L. R. A. 420, is explained by a statute passed after our earlier decision was made and limited in its effect to the city and county of New York. Laws 1895, p. 1292, c. 601, § 20. There is no right of appeal in criminal actions except as conferred by statute, and we find none allowing an appeal to this court under the facts of this case. People v. Trezza, 128 N. Y. 529, 28 N. E. 533. The subject is regulated by the Code of Criminal Procedure, of which part 5 is devoted to ‘proceedings in Courts of Special Sessions and Police Courts.’ Sections 699-773. Title 3 of part 5, relating to ‘appeals from Courts of Special Sessions,’ authorizes an appeal to the County Court from judgments of conviction rendered by minor courts, including courts of special sessions and police courts. Section 749. The County Court may affirm or reverse the judgment so appealed from, ‘or may order a new trial, or may modify the sentence.’ Section 764. ‘If the judgment on the appeal be against the defendant he may appeal therefrom to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the same manner as from a judgment in an action prosecuted by indictment.’ Section 770. ‘The judgment of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upon the appeal is final,’ with a single exception not now material. Section 771. As we said in People ex rel. Com'rs of Charities v. Cullen, 151 N. Y. 54, 59,45 N. E. 401: ‘The rule is absolute in all cases, with a single exception, and the proceeding before us is not covered by the exception. The Legislature evidently intended to place a limit upon the right of review in the less important class of cases, by allowing only two appeals, one to the County Court and the other to the Supreme Court.’ Part 4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, embracing sections 133 to 699,...