People v. Jemzura

Full title: THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. GEORGE JEMZURA…

Court: Court of Appeals of the State of New York

Date published: Jul 7, 1971

29 N.Y.2d 590 (N.Y. 1971)

324 N.Y.S.2d 315

272 N.E.2d 897

Opinion

Argued June 9, 1971

Decided July 7, 1971

Appeal from the Chenango County Court, EDWARD S. NELSON, J.

George Jemzura, appellant in person.

Irad S. Ingraham, District Attorney, for respondent.

MEMORANDUM. Defendant, following an attempt to make a citizen's arrest of County Judge LYNN N. PETERSON, was charged with harassment in violation of section 240.25 (subds. 3, 5) of the Penal Law. Without condoning or making any determination with respect to the purported citizen's arrest we find that the evidence is insufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant's conduct in attempting the arrest constituted harassment or that his actions evidenced an "intent to harass, annoy or alarm", within the meaning of the statute.

The judgment should be reversed, the complaint dismissed and the fine remitted.

SCILEPPI, J. (dissenting).

The judgment appealed from should be affirmed.

Defendant, apparently distraught over the outcome of a 1964 Family Court proceeding, in which Judge PETERSON was the Presiding Judge, sought on two separate occasions to effect a citizen's arrest of the Judge. The present conviction arises out of the second incident during which the defendant, equipped with a tape recorder and microphone, accosted the Judge in chambers, advised him of the intended arrest and demanded a statement.

Defendant's conduct in attempting the arrest, quite apart from the question of its legality, was, under the circumstances, beyond reasonable doubt calculated to "harass, annoy or alarm", within the meaning of section 240.25.

Since the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction, I cast my vote for affirmance.

Chief Judge FULD and Judges BURKE, BREITEL, JASEN and GIBSON concur in memorandum; Judge SCILEPPI dissents and votes to affirm in an opinion in which Judge BERGAN concurs.

Judgment reversed, complaint dismissed and fine remitted in a memorandum.