People v. Suber, 19 N.Y.3d 248 (2012)
A defendant’s admission need not be corroborated to satisfy the prima facie case requirement for an information.
Summary
The New York Court of Appeals held that an information charging a defendant with failing to register as a sex offender was facially sufficient, even though the defendant’s admission of moving to certain residences without notification was not corroborated. The Court reasoned that while CPL 60.50 requires corroboration for a conviction based on an admission, the statutes governing informations (CPL 100.40) do not explicitly mandate corroboration for an information to be facially valid. Therefore, the Appellate Term’s reversal of the defendant’s conviction was incorrect. The Court of Appeals reversed and reinstated the conviction.
Facts
Defendant Frank Suber, a registered sex offender, moved to two different addresses in Brooklyn in December 2005 and February 2006 without notifying the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) or verifying his address with local law enforcement, as required by Correction Law § 168-f. He eventually informed a police officer about his prior Brooklyn residences. Based on this admission, the People filed a misdemeanor information charging him with failing to register and verify his address.
Procedural History
In Criminal Court, the defendant challenged the facial sufficiency of the information, arguing that it lacked corroboration of his admissions. The Criminal Court found corroboration unnecessary and accepted his guilty plea. The Appellate Term reversed, holding that corroboration was required and the absence thereof rendered the information jurisdictionally insufficient. The Court of Appeals granted leave to appeal.
Issue(s)
Whether a defendant’s admissions must be corroborated to satisfy the prima facie case requirement for an information.
Holding
No, because the Criminal Procedure Law does not explicitly require corroboration of a defendant’s admission to establish a prima facie case in an information.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court of Appeals reasoned that CPL 60.50, which requires corroboration for a conviction based solely on a confession or admission, does not apply to the facial sufficiency of charging instruments. The Court emphasized that while an information must establish a prima facie case with non-hearsay allegations, the relevant statute (CPL 100.40) does not expressly mandate corroboration of admissions. The Court distinguished the requirements for informations from those for indictments, where corroboration is explicitly required by CPL 70.10(1) and 190.65(1). The Court noted the legislative history, pointing out that the legislature removed the term “legally sufficient evidence” which incorporates a corroboration requirement, when drafting the information provision. The Court also stated, “Since clear and unequivocal statutory language is presumptively entitled to authoritative effect CPL 100.40 (1) does not mandate corroboration of an admission in an information.” The Court clarified that while corroboration is not required for the *information* to be valid, CPL 60.50 *does* require corroboration before a conviction can be obtained at trial based solely on the defendant’s admission. The dissenting opinion argued that the majority departed from precedent and that an information must contain allegations establishing a legally sufficient case, which includes corroboration of admissions. The majority addressed the dissent’s reliance on People v. Alejandro and Matter of Jahron S. by stating “To the extent that Alejandro and Jahron S. may have tended to equate a prima facie case for an information or a juvenile delinquency petition with legally sufficient evidence under CPL 70.10 (1), those portions of the writings were dicta and, as we now explain, are incompatible with the governing statutes.”