People v. Santos

OPINION OF THE COURT

William C. Donnino, J.

The issue presented here is whether a count of an indictment that omits an element of the offense from its factual allegations, but refers to the name and statutory citation of the offense in its accusatory portion, is facially sufficient under the pleading requirements of the Criminal Procedure Law.

The Court of Appeals has held that such a count is not defective for jurisdictional purposes because it satisfies minimum notice requirements under the state and federal constitutions. But the Court of Appeals has noted that whether such a count is…