People v. Casey, 95 N.Y.2d 354 (2000)
Hearsay pleading defects in the factual portion of a local criminal court information must be preserved by timely objection to be reviewable on appeal.
Summary
Casey was convicted of criminal contempt for violating a Temporary Order of Protection. He appealed, arguing the information charging him was jurisdictionally defective because it lacked non-hearsay allegations of his knowledge of the order and failed to attach the order itself. The Court of Appeals held that while the information had a potential hearsay defect, Casey’s failure to raise a timely pretrial objection waived his right to challenge it on appeal. The Court clarified that not all pleading defects are jurisdictional, distinguishing between failing to plead an element of the crime (non-waivable) and using hearsay to plead an element (waivable if not objected to). The Court emphasized the importance of preserving objections and the curability of hearsay defects through amendment.
Facts
A Temporary Order of Protection was issued against Casey in connection with a harassment charge. The complainant reported a violation of the order to the police. A detective verified the order and interviewed the complainant, who showed him a certified copy. The detective contacted Casey, who confirmed he was served with the order. Casey surrendered, was given Miranda rights, and made statements implying he violated the order.
Procedural History
Casey moved to suppress his statements, which was denied. He was convicted of criminal contempt. The Appellate Term affirmed, rejecting Casey’s arguments that the information was defective and his statements inadmissible. Casey appealed to the Court of Appeals.
Issue(s)
Whether a hearsay pleading defect in a local criminal court information, specifically the failure to include a non-hearsay allegation of the defendant’s knowledge of the order violated, must be preserved by timely objection to be reviewable on appeal.
Holding
No, because hearsay pleading defects in the factual portion of a local criminal court information must be preserved to be reviewable on appeal. Casey’s failure to raise a timely objection waived the defect.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court of Appeals addressed whether the hearsay allegation regarding Casey’s knowledge of the order was a jurisdictional defect that could be raised for the first time on appeal. The Court distinguished People v. Alejandro, clarifying that while failure to plead an element of a crime is a non-waivable jurisdictional defect, using hearsay to plead an element is waivable if not objected to. The Court reasoned that pre-CPL case law required non-hearsay criminal pleadings, but any hearsay defect was waived if not raised in a pretrial motion. The court found no legislative intent in the Criminal Procedure Law to change this. It stated that the non-hearsay requirement is met if the allegation falls under a hearsay exception. Here, the detective’s allegation of service was admissible under the public documents exception (certified copy of the order) and Casey’s admission to the detective. The Court stated, “So long as the factual allegations of an information give an accused notice sufficient to prepare a defense and are adequately detailed to prevent a defendant from being tried twice for the same offense, they should be given a fair and not overly restrictive or technical reading.” The Court emphasized that pleading deficiencies cannot be jurisdictional because a court must have and exercise subject matter jurisdiction to rule on the sufficiency of a pleading. Moreover, the defect was curable by amendment. The Court concluded that because Casey failed to object to the hearsay defect before trial, he was precluded from raising it on appeal.