Matter of Vega v. Bell, 47 N.Y.2d 543 (1979)
A Grand Jury can indict a juvenile offender without a prior hearing in local criminal court to determine if the case should be transferred to Family Court.
Summary
This case addresses whether a juvenile offender must be afforded a hearing in local criminal court to determine if the interests of justice require the case to be moved to Family Court before being indicted by a Grand Jury. The Court of Appeals held that such a hearing is not a jurisdictional prerequisite to a Grand Jury indictment. The court reasoned that the purpose of the local criminal court hearing is to determine reasonable cause pending Grand Jury action, which becomes unnecessary once the Grand Jury indicts. The Court emphasized that the power to indict lies with the Grand Jury, and that the Legislature’s provisions for removal to Family Court are meant to quickly remove appropriate cases, not to mandate a hearing for every juvenile offender.
Facts
Petitioner, a 15-year-old, was arrested and arraigned on a felony complaint charging him with sodomy in the first degree. He requested a felony hearing and removal of the case to Family Court. The prosecutor informed the court that a Grand Jury had already voted to indict the petitioner on four counts of sodomy. The Criminal Court denied petitioner’s applications, reasoning it lacked power after the Grand Jury’s action, and transferred the action to the Supreme Court.
Procedural History
Petitioner moved in the Supreme Court to transfer the action back to the Criminal Court for resolution of his removal motion, which was denied. Petitioner then commenced an Article 78 proceeding seeking to prohibit his prosecution, arguing the Grand Jury lacked power to indict him without a prior removal hearing. The Appellate Division granted the petition. The respondents then appealed to the Court of Appeals.
Issue(s)
Whether a juvenile offender may be indicted by a Grand Jury and brought to trial without first being afforded a hearing in a local criminal court on the issue of whether the interests of justice require removal of the action to Family Court.
Holding
No, because a local criminal court hearing is not a jurisdictional prerequisite to indictment by a Grand Jury. The power of the Grand Jury to indict is independent of whether a preliminary hearing has occurred.
Court’s Reasoning
The court stated, “[T]he extraordinary remedy of prohibition lies only where there is a clear legal right and only when the body or officer ‘acts or threatens to act without jurisdiction in a matter over which it has no power over the subject matter or where it exceeds its authorized powers in a proceeding over which it has jurisdiction’”. The court reasoned that CPL 180.75 is intended to provide a prompt felony hearing, similar to that granted to adults, to determine whether there exists reasonable cause to hold a defendant pending Grand Jury action. Once the Grand Jury acts, the need for a felony hearing is obviated. The court cited People ex rel. Hirschberg v. Close, 1 N.Y.2d 258, 261, stating that “the Grand Jury [has] power to investigate and indict regardless of what [has] occurred before the magistrate.”
The court distinguished Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541, noting that New York’s statutory scheme now automatically prosecutes certain juveniles in the adult system unless special circumstances warrant transfer to Family Court, unlike the Kent scenario where juvenile court jurisdiction was initially exclusive. The court also clarified that superior criminal courts possess the power to remove cases to Family Court in the interests of justice, impliedly founded in their authority to dismiss an indictment under CPL 210.40. The court interpreted the Legislature’s explicit provision for removal with the District Attorney’s consent as an indication that removal over the District Attorney’s objections should only occur in exceptional cases. The Court emphasized that a hearing is not always necessary and should be left to the court’s discretion.