People v. Rooney

Decision Date07 October 1982
Citation441 N.E.2d 1113,455 N.Y.S.2d 595,57 N.Y.2d 822
CourtNew York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
Parties, 441 N.E.2d 1113 The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Michael ROONEY, Appellant.
OPINION OF THE COURT MEMORANDUM.

The order of the Appellate Division, 85 A.D.2d 508, 448 N.Y.S.2d 418, should be affirmed.

The defendant was tried on an indictment charging him with criminally negligent homicide in that he "operated a motor vehicle at an excessive rate of speed, on the wrong side of the road while intoxicated and struck another vehicle" causing the death of another person. He was also charged in separate counts with driving while under the influence of alcohol. The defendant requested the court to charge the jury that he could not be found guilty of criminally negligent homicide unless it found that he had committed all of the acts mentioned in the indictment. The court refused the charge and the jury returned a verdict finding him not guilty of driving while under the influence of alcohol but guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

The court did not err in refusing to charge the jury as the defendant requested. Not every fact mentioned in an indictment is essential to establish the defendant's guilt of the crime charged, and thus it is not necessary in every case that the People prove all acts alleged in the indictment when the remaining acts alleged are sufficient to sustain a conviction. In this case the jury could find that the defendant was criminally negligent when he drove the vehicle on the wrong side of the road while speeding even though he may not have been intoxicated at the time.

COOKE, C.J., and JASEN, JONES, WACHTLER, FUCHSBERG and MEYER, JJ., concur.

GABRIELLI, J., taking no part.

Order affirmed in a memorandum.

To continue reading

Request your trial
28 cases
  • People v. Senisi
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • April 11, 1994
    ...excessive speed; the participation in a speed contest) could have been recited in one single count (see, e.g., People v. Rooney, 57 N.Y.2d 822, 455 N.Y.S.2d 595, 441 N.E.2d 1113) and such non-essential factual recitations do not, in the absence of prejudice, limit the nature of the otherwis......
  • People v. Horton
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • March 5, 2020
    ...marks and citation omitted], lv denied 7 N.Y.3d 792, 821 N.Y.S.2d 822, 854 N.E.2d 1286 [2006] ; see People v. Rooney , 57 N.Y.2d 822, 823, 455 N.Y.S.2d 595, 441 N.E.2d 1113 [1982] ; People v. Hilliard, 49 A.D.3d 910, 913, 853 N.Y.S.2d 198 [2008], lv denied 10 N.Y.3d 959, 863 N.Y.S.2d 143, 8......
  • People v. Cabrera
    • United States
    • New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
    • May 1, 2008
    ...sufficient evidence (see e.g. People v. Ricardo B., 73 N.Y.2d 228, 538 N.Y.S.2d 796, 535 N.E.2d 1336 [1989]; People v. Rooney, 57 N.Y.2d 822, 455 N.Y.S.2d 595, 441 N.E.2d 1113 [1982]; People v. Haney, 30 N.Y.2d 328, 333 N.Y.S.2d 403, 284 N.E.2d 564 [1972]). In this regard, we have indicated......
  • People v. Adams
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • December 2, 1993
    ...provided that the remaining facts alleged and proven are sufficient to sustain a conviction (see, People v. Rooney, 57 N.Y.2d 822, 823, 455 N.Y.S.2d 595, 441 N.E.2d 1113). Next, we reject defendant's contention that the police lacked reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle he was driving. ......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT