People v. Pierre

Summary

The Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed an order dismissing the indictment against Richard Pierre for violation of his statutory speedy-trial right. The court held that the People failed to exercise due diligence in making required discovery disclosures, rendering their certificates of compliance invalid and their statement of readiness illusory.

Holdings

1. When a defendant moves under CPL 30.30(1)(a) based on the People's failure to exercise due diligence in making required disclosure, the People bear the burden of establishing that they exercised due diligence and made reasonable inquiries before filing the certificate of compliance.
2. If the People fail to establish due diligence, the court should deem the certificate of compliance invalid, strike the statement of readiness as illusory, and dismiss the indictment when the time chargeable to the People exceeds the applicable CPL 30.30 period.
3. The Supreme Court properly found the People's certificates of compliance invalid and struck the underlying statement of readiness because the People failed to exercise due diligence regarding the missing body-worn-camera videos.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the People established that they exercised due diligence and made reasonable inquiries before filing their certificates of compliance despite belated or missing discovery.
2. Whether the People's certificates of compliance were invalid and their statement of readiness illusory because of the missing body-worn-camera videos.
3. Whether dismissal was proper under CPL 30.30(1)(a) because the time chargeable to the People exceeded the applicable six-month speedy-trial period.

Disposition

affirmed