People v. Wright

• Decision Date: 22 April 1958
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York v. Wayne A. WRIGHT, Defendant.
• Court: New York Court of Special Sessions

Page 160

173 N.Y.S.2d 160

12 Misc.2d 961

The PEOPLE of the State of New York v. Wayne A. WRIGHT, Defendant.

Court of Special Sessions of City of New York, New York County.

April 22, 1958.

Frank Hogan, Dist. Atty., New York County, New York City (Irving Lang and Bernard L. Friedman, Asst. Dist. Attys., New York City, of counsel), for the People.

La Muriel Morris and William C. Chance, Jr., New York City, for defendant.

BENJAMIN GASSMAN, Justice.

The seven count information charges the defendant with a violation of Section 964-a of the Penal Law (Counts 1 to 6, inclusive), and with making a false statement in writing for the purpose of procuring property and credit (Count 7).

The first count alleges that on or about September 15, 1956, the defendant 'without express authority from the Secretary General of the United Nations, and with the intent to deceive and mislead the public, unlawfully did assume, adopt and use the name of the United Nations, and abbreviation thereof, and simulation thereof, which might deceive and mislead the public as to the true identity of the said defendant, and as to the official connection of the said defendant with the United Nations.' Counts 2 to 6, inclusive, contain similar charges with respect to five other dates. Count 7 charges the defendant with having on or about August 28, 1956, caused to be made a false statement in writing, with the intent that it should be relied upon, respecting the financial condition and his means and ability to pay, 'for the purpose of procuring the delivery of personal property and the extension of credit, by representing to Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., that he was employed as an executive assistant to the Secretary General of the United Nations, when, in fact, the said defendant was never employed by the Secretary General of the United Nations or by the United Nations in any capacity whatever.'

The defendant moves for the dismissal of Counts 1 to 6, inclusive, on the ground that Section 964-a of the Penal Law, which prohibits the adoption or use of the name 'United Nations' or any abbreviation thereof, without express authority from the Secretary General of the United Nations, is unconstitutional. In an extensive brief submitted by the defendant, his counsel argue that that section (a) violates Article I, Section 10 of the United States Constitution, which prohibits any State from entering into any agreement or treaty with a foreign power without the consent of Congress; (b) violates the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 11 of the New York State Constitution, which prohibit the denial of the equal protection of the laws to any person, or the deprival of any person of his life, liberty or property without due process of law; (c) violates Article III, Section 1 of the New York State Constitution in that, by requiring the express authority of the Secretary General of the United Nations for the use of the name 'United Nations' and making it a misdemeanor for any one to use that name without such express authority, the Legislature improperly delegated its legislative powers to an individual; and (d) that the statute violates Article III, Section 17 of the New York State Constitution, in that it has granted an exclusive privilege or franchise to a private individual.

With respect to Count 7, defendant urges that it does not allege a crime under Section 1293-b of the Penal Law.

While it is true that a court of inferior jurisdiction has the right to pass upon the constitutionality of a statute (People v. Lee, 151 Misc. 431, 272 N.Y.S. 817), such courts will not declare a law unconstitutional unless the violation of the Constitution is plain and patent upon the face of the statute (Hughes-Kelly Corp. v. Town of Babylon, Sup., 86 N.Y.S.2d 48), or unless the unconstitutionality is inescapable (People, on Inf. of Barker v. Elkin, 196 Misc. 188, 80 N.Y.S.2d 525, 531). This is especially true, where the law is of great importance and far reaching effect (Dekrone v. Bussitil, 199 Misc. 70, 102 N.Y.S.2d 291). The tendency is to leave such questions to appellate tribunals (In re City of New Rochelle, 182 Misc. 176, 46 N.Y.S.2d 645, 647, affirmed in City of New Rochelle v. Echo Bay Waterfront Corp., 268 App.Div. 182, 49 N.Y.S.2d 673, affirmed in 294 N.Y. 678, 60 N.E.2d 838).

'Courts of first instance should not exercise transcendent powers of declaring an act of the Legislature unconstitutional except in rare cases involving life and liberty, and where invalidity of the act is apparent on its face. A clear usurpation by the Legislature of prohibited power must be found before a statute is pronounced unconstitutional'. Statutes, Section 150, Vol. 1, McKinney's Consolidated Laws. 'If such a common-sense construction of a statute demonstrates that there was no legislative usurpation of a power prohibited by the Constitution, the statute will not be struck down as unconstitutional'. Mancuso v. Board of Education, 207 Misc. 703, 142 N.Y.S.2d 428, 431, affirmed in 309 N.Y. 726, 128 N.E.2d 422.

While defendant's motion is one for the dismissal of the information, the court will treat it as a demurrer under Section 323 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. For the purposes of this demurrer, the facts expressly alleged in the information as well as everything that can be implied by fair and reasonable intendment from those allegations, must be deemed to be admitted. Under this rule, does the information allege a crime?

The United Nations was formed, as stated in the preamble to its Charter, 59 Stat. 1031, because civilized nations in the world determined 'to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to manking'. Its purpose was to unite the strength of member nations in order that international peace and security might be maintained. The Charter set up machinery for the determination of rights of nations and for the collective security against aggression. The principal organs of the United Nations, established under ...