CRIMINAL DEFENSE, CONTINUED

Page 3

 Using his knowledge of the law, Mr. Corletta turned a situation where his client had a warrant for her arrest into a dismissal in just over 30 days.  In People v. M.M. (Roch. City Ct., December 4, 2006), Mr. Corletta's client had a warrant for her arrest for a misdemeanor.  Mr. Corletta, cognizant of the CPLR §30.30 period, first arranged with the Court Clerk for his client to surrender and receive an Appearance Ticket thereby avoiding formal arrest.

Then, upon appearing with his client, Mr. Corletta promptly filed a Motion to Dismiss within one week.  The Motion alleged the accusatory instrument which had been filed over three months before, had not been timely prosecuted due to the delay in executing the Warrant.  Mr. Corletta also pointed out he had actually assisted the government in surrendering his client.

The District Attorney agreed with Mr. Corlett's position, and consented to dismissal.  Mr. Corletta's client, a young woman with no prior criminal record, was extremely gratified with the result. 

Knowledge of the law paid off in avoiding a potential life changing result for a young client in People v. Anonymous,Penn Yan Village Ct.,( Yates Cty., February 5, 2007). In that case, Mr. Corletta’s young client was charged with Forcible Touching, a registerable sex offense. The allegation was that his young client, while intoxicated, allegedly grabbed a female.

      Applying the law, and noting that all the elements of Forcible Touching were not made out, primarily due to his client’s intoxication, Mr. Corletta brought a Motion to Dismiss. The District Attorney did not oppose the Motion agreeing with Mr. Corletta that this case did not justify the charging of a sex crime.

         This was a life changing result for Mr. Corletta’s client, because it avoided potential registration under the Sex Offender  Registration Act, which would have been for a minimum of ten years, together with the associated stigma involved.