People v. Menzies
| Decision Date | 10 June 1960 |
| Parties | PEOPLE of the State of New York v. Marshall M. MENZIES, Defendant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court |
John P. Gualtieri, Abraham H. Baker, Rome, for defendant.
John M. Liddy, Dist. Atty., Oneida County, Utica, for the People.
The defendant has moved for permission to inspect the Grand Jury minutes upon which the indictment charging him with criminal negligence, pursuant to section 1053-a of the Penal Law was found.
The defendant has submitted with his moving papers, affidavits of the principal witnesses who appeared before the Grand Jury indicating the nature of their testimony before the Grand Jury and upon the strength thereof, urges that the indictment must have been found upon insufficient evidence. He requests permission to examine the Grand Jury minutes for the purpose of ascertaining if any other evidence was submitted and in the absence thereof, represents that he will make a motion upon the Grand Jury minutes to dismiss the indictment as being found upon insufficient evidence. I am satisfied that the application of the defendant is made in good faith and that it is his intention, if permitted to examine the Grand Jury minutes to move for a dismissal of the indictment. In my opinion, in the absence of some showing to the contrary by the People, that under the authority of People ex rel. Hirschberg v. Supreme Court of New York et al., 269 N.Y. 392, 199 N.E. 634, and People v. McOmber, 206 Misc. 465, 133 N.Y.S.2d 407, that the court has jurisdiction to entertain this application and that the defendant is entitled to examine the Grand Jury minutes for the purpose of moving thereon to dismiss the indictment.
The People appeared in opposition to the application but submitted no authorities or any answering affidavits, it being the Court's impression that they were submitting the matter to the court for its determination. I have examined the Grnad Jury minutes with care. I am satisfied that there is nothing therein which would reveal to the defendant any additional information, either as to additional witnesses or as to additional facts than those generally covered in the affidavits of the witnesses who appeared before the Grand Jury, copies of which were annexed to the defendant's moving papers.
I am, therefore, satisfied that the People's case will not be in any way prejudiced if the defendant is permitted to examine the Grand Jury minutes for the purpose of making a motion to dismiss the indictment.
The defendant urges that the evidence which was submitted to the Grand Jury was not sufficient to justify finding an indictment against him for a violation of section 1053-a of the Penal Law which reads as follows:
§ 1053-a. Criminal negligence in operation of vehicle resulting in death
'A person who operates or drives any vehicle of any kind in a reckless or culpably negligent manner, whereby a human being is killed, is guilty of criminal negligence in the operation of a vehicle resulting in death.'
in that the only evidence of negligence upon the part of the defendant was that he was traveling at an excessive rate of speed and that he was prior to the accident on the wrong side of the road, which in and of itself, while possibly constituting negligence, does not constitute reckless or culpable negligence. The defendant further urges that in the absence of some proof of the operation of the defendant's automobile in a 'reckless' or 'culpably negligent manner', a conviction for a violation of section 1053-a of the Penal Law cannot be sustained. He cites People v. Gardner, 255...
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People v. Menzies
...683, 8 N.Y.S.2d 917 and People v. Bearden, 290 N.Y. 478, 49 N.E.2d 785 in a memorandum opinion, reported in People v. Menzies, 24 Misc.2d 1033, 205 N.Y.S.2d 745, 748, concluded 'Under the above decisions, I believe that the defendant is justified in seeking to move to dismiss the indictment......