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[T] People v. Ventura5/6/2004
allenged here. Violations are punishable by jail sentences of no more than fifteen days. They do not require an allocution. Misdemeanors on the other hand, require an advisement of Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969) and People v. Harris, 61 N.Y.2d 9, 471 N.Y.S.2d 61, 459 N.E.2d 170 (1983) rights. For example, defendants are entitled to know that the entry of a guilty plea means that they have been convicted of a crime. They are entitled to know what a crime is and the penalties in connection therewith. The Village and State do not have any reporting mechanism for informing the New York State Criminal Justice Service Agency of convictions for misdemeanors that might otherwise arise out of our Court. Since most Village Justices do not impose jail sentences, most are not aware that sections of their village code may contain provisions where violations of them are misdemeanors.
We also do not have any facilities for the preparation of presentence reports by the Nassau County Probation Department. We do not adjourn cases for sentencing in order to receive reports. We do not advise defendants that they have a right to remain silent; that they have a right to a jury trial; that they may call and cross-examine witnesses; that a plea of guilty is the same as being convicted after a trial. But for this clarification, defendants may be unwittingly pleading to misdemeanors without ever knowing that that is the case.
Article 18-B of the County Law does not allow for the assignment of counsel, investigators or interpreters in violation cases. See Alabama v. Shelton, 535 U.S. ___, 152 L.Ed.2d 888, 122 S.Ct. (2002) and People v. Daniel Louis, New York Law Journal, March 15, 1999 at 1, 25 and 33. See also, Thomas F. Liotti, Does Gideon Still Make a Difference? New York City Law Review, Edited by the students of The City University of New York School of Law, a Journal of Law in the Service of Human Needs, Volume Two, Summer, 1998, Number Two, pp. 105-137.
The right of privacy and to be free from illegal searches and seizures is perhaps the single most important part of the Constitution and a building block for the freedoms and democracy upon which this country is based. The Village argues that it has limited powers at its disposal to enforce our zoning laws. So be it. If the Village feels it must have more power to control the spread of illegal multiple dwellings, it must go to the Legislature for that and not this Court. However righteous or noble the purpose, this Court cannot condone a constitutional breach. When a trespass has occurred, even a later discovery of a violation of the law, cannot justify or forgive the illegal entry.
Perhaps the former head of the F.B.I., J. Edgar Hoover believed that he was justified or even patriotic in launching his COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) against political dissidents. He was not. Perhaps former President Nixon and his Attorney General John Mitchell, believed that they were justified in proposing "no-knock laws" of 1968 in the form of an Omnibus Crime Bill, or in later approving of the break-in of the Democratic National Headquarters at Watergate. They were not. See Peter D. Klingman, What Did The President Know And When Did He Know It?: Redefining Richard Nixon's Guilt And John Dean's Role In The Watergate Cover-Up (www.watergate.com/stories/watergate.asp). The line of demarcation between civil liberties and anarchy must be drawn by this Court at the threshold to a person's home and property. While I know that the Village Officials in this case have the most noble purposes in mind, that cannot overshadow more than two hundred years of Constitutional freedoms.
COINTELPRO is an acronym fo
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