Matter of Alphonso C., 38 N.Y.2d 923 (1976)

Orders compelling a suspect to appear in a lineup or provide a handwriting exemplar, issued during a criminal investigation but before the commencement of a criminal action, are considered criminal proceedings and are not subject to direct appellate review absent statutory authorization.

Summary

These cases address the appealability of orders compelling individuals to participate in lineups or provide handwriting exemplars during criminal investigations, before any formal charges have been filed. The District Attorneys of New York and Kings Counties sought these orders to aid in investigations of an attempted homicide and forgery/larceny, respectively. The Court of Appeals held that because these orders were issued in the context of criminal investigations, the proceedings were criminal in nature. Since no statute authorized direct appellate review of such orders, they were not appealable, and the appeals were dismissed.

Facts

In Alphonso C., the District Attorney of New York County applied for a court order directing Alphonso C. to appear in a lineup as part of an attempted homicide investigation. In Angelo G., the District Attorney of Kings County sought an order compelling Angelo G. to provide a handwriting exemplar in connection with a forgery, grand larceny, and falsifying business records investigation. In both cases, no criminal action had been initiated against the individuals, and the requests were not related to any pending criminal action or grand jury proceedings.

Procedural History

In Alphonso C., the Supreme Court granted the District Attorney’s application, but the Appellate Division, First Department, reversed. In Angelo G., the Supreme Court granted the District Attorney’s application, and the Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed. Both cases were then appealed to the Court of Appeals.

Issue(s)

Whether an order directing a suspect to appear in a lineup or provide a handwriting exemplar, issued during a criminal investigation before the commencement of a criminal action, is directly appealable.

Holding

No, because such an order is part of a criminal proceeding, and there is no statutory authorization for direct appellate review of these types of orders.

Court’s Reasoning

The Court of Appeals determined that the orders obtained by the District Attorneys were part of criminal proceedings because they were issued in the context of criminal investigations. The court relied on CPL 1.20, subd 18, par [b] and Matter of Santangello v People, 38 NY2d 536 to support this determination. The Court emphasized the absence of statutory authority for direct appellate review. Therefore, the Court concluded that the orders of the Supreme Court were not appealable under CPL 1.10 and Matter of Santangello v People. The court stated, “There being no statutory authorization for direct appellate review, the orders of Supreme Court are not appealable and the appeals taken therefrom should have been dismissed.”