People v. Sellars

• Citation: 73 Misc.3d 248,152 N.Y.S.3d 877
• Decision Date: 10 August 2021
• Docket Number: Index No. 3783-2021
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of New York, v. Shayla SELLARS, Defendant.
• Court: New York County Court

73 Misc.3d 248
152 N.Y.S.3d 877

PEOPLE of the State of New York,
v.
Shayla SELLARS, Defendant.

Index No. 3783-2021

County Court, New York, Orange County.

Decided on August 10, 2021

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY, Attorney for the People, 40 Matthews Street, Goshen, New York 10924

MATTHEW D. WITHEROW, Attorney for the Defendant, P.O. Box 1005, Port Jervis, New York 12566

GARY SOMERVILLE, Former Attorney for the Defendant, 211 Main Street, Goshen, New York 10924

Craig Stephen Brown, J.

73 Misc.3d 249

The People move for an order, pursuant to CPL §§ 245.70 and 245.10(1)(a)(iv)(A), for a protective order declaring certain records made by stenographers in the Grand Jury non-discoverable.

It is hereby ORDERED that the People's application for a protective order is granted.

In the instant matter the stenographer who transcribed the Grand Jury proceedings utilized a stenographic machine which automatically created a digital audio recording of the proceedings. The stenographic machine employed by the court reporter had proprietary software known as "Case CATalyst." The machine defaulted to create a digital audio recording of the proceeding and utilized a feature identified as "AudioSync." AudioSync synchronized the recorded audio with the transcripts created by the stenographer. The digital audio recording created by the stenographic machine is utilized as an aid by the stenographer in creating an accurate and official transcript. While the People assert that these recordings are not discoverable to defendants under CPL Article 245, they have applied for a protective order in an abundance of caution in order to notify the defendant of the presence of the recordings and to have the court rule on the same.

CPL § 245.20(1)(b) states that the People shall disclose to the defendant "[a]ll transcripts of the testimony of a person who has testified before a grand jury ..." The People are obligated to provide the transcripts of the witness testimony before the grand jury, however, the preliminary notes or shorthand utilized by the grand jury stenographer to create the transcript...