People v. Squilleri

• Decision Date: 27 August 1962
• Citation: 37 Misc.2d 291,231 N.Y.S.2d 443
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of New York, Complainant, v. Robert SQUILLERI, Defendant. City Magistrate's Court of City of New York, North Queens Traffic Court
• Court: New York Magistrate Court

Page 443

231 N.Y.S.2d 443

37 Misc.2d 291

PEOPLE of the State of New York, Complainant, v. Robert SQUILLERI, Defendant.

City Magistrate's Court of City of New York, North Queens Traffic Court.

Aug. 27, 1962.

John J. Kerns, Sergeant, Counsel, Safety Div., Police Dept., New York City, for the People.

Joseph Lonardo, Long Island City, for defendant.

AARON F. GOLDSTEIN, City Magistrate.

The defendant is charged with violating Section 1182 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law. The trial was held before me and at the conclusion decision was reserved on the defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint on the ground that the same was insufficient.

The complaint against the defendant alleges 'That on April 7, 1962 at about 4:25 p. m., the defendant, Robert Squilleri, did drive a vehicle on Horace Harding Expressway eastbound between Main Street and Kissena Boulevard, a public highway in the County of Queens, City and State of New York, and did enter into a drag race with another vehicle in violation of Article 30, Section 1182 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law.'

Section 1182 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law reads as follows:

'1182. Speed contests and races. No races or contests for speed shall be held and no person shall engage in or aid or abet in any motor vehicle speed contest or exhibition of speed on a highway without the permission of the authorities of the state, city, town or village having jurisdiction and unless the same is fully and efficiently patrolled for the entire distance over which such race or contest for speed is to be held.'

The defendant contends that the complaint is insufficient on its face. An information charging the commission of a crime must state the crime and the acts constituting such crime, with the same particularity, clarity and exactness as in an indictment. This is to inform the defendant of the nature of the charge against him and of the act or acts constituting it, so that the defendant cannot be tried again for the same offense. People v. Grogan, 260 N.Y. 138, 183 N.E. 273, 86 A.L.R. 1266. However, the violation with which the defendant is charged is not a crime. It is a traffic infraction punishable by a maximum fine of $50.00 or fifteen days imprisonment, or both. (Sections 155, 1800, Vehicle and Traffic Law).

In Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Page 684, a drag race is defined as, 'An acceleration contest between automobiles, esp. hot rods.' The Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. 2, Page 664, defines a drag race as 'an acceleration race from a standing start.' In the book, 'Hot Rod It' by Fred Horsley, the author states, 'On closed airstrips, rodders also began competing in acceleration or drag races for the fastest time over a quarter mile from a standing point. Back of dragging is the same competitive spirit that makes you want to beat the other cars from a stop light. Drag racing, though, like all hot rod competition, is done on a runway, a special course, or a roadway under carefuly supervision to insure safety and fair treatment to all competitors.' And at page 14, 'Drag racing, the short acceleration trials on a traffic closed road, such as the one used in Glen Cove, Long Island, or an air strip, is still a new sport. Since 1950 when the first drags were run in California at the Santa Ana Airstrip, this type of competition has spread throughout the country. And at page 74, 'The competition, though, that made hot rodding a national sport from coast to coast is drag racing.' Articles on drag racing have appeared in various publications and newspapers. See Long Island Daily Press, January 12th, 13th and 14th, 1962, New York Journal American, January 12, 1962.

Courts can take judicial notice of the meaning of words, phrases and abbreviations. Richardson on Evidence, 6th Edition, Section 50. This Court takes judicial notice that a drag race is an acceleration contest between automobiles. Moreover, the term 'drag race' is a term in common use.

In indictment, information or complaint need not allege matters of which judicial notice is taken. Section 286, Code of Criminal Procedure, People v. Resciniti, 191 Misc. 719, 81 N.Y.S.2d 338. Further, there appears to be no provision in the ...