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NY POST: New York State Penal Law and Criminal Procedure Law

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New York State Penal Law and Criminal Procedure Law

This domain tests whether you can read a fact pattern, name the offense and its degree, and then trace the procedural steps that follow: who may arrest, on what authority, how the case is charged and what deadlines and disclosure duties attach.

Substantive law anchors

  • Penal Law § 10.00: a crime is a felony or a misdemeanor; an offense also includes violations; a violation is not a crime.
  • § 15.05 culpability levels: intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, criminal negligence. Under § 15.15(2), where recklessness suffices, knowledge also suffices.
  • § 20.00: an accomplice must share the mental culpability required for the offense and solicit, aid, or attempt to aid.
  • Degrees turn on facts. Grand larceny is graded by value (§ 155.30 fourth degree, § 155.40 second). Robbery in the third degree becomes second degree (§ 160.10) when a firearm is displayed, when another person is actually present and aids, or when physical injury results.

Procedure anchors

  • CPL § 140.10: warrantless arrest for any offense committed in your presence, and for any crime on reasonable cause even outside your presence.
  • CPL § 140.40: search of the arrestee for weapons or evidence; scope is the person and grabbing area, not the whole premises.
  • CPL § 30.30: six months for a felony, ninety days for a misdemeanor, thirty days for a violation, less delay attributable to the defense.
  • CPL § 245.20 automatic discovery; CPL § 710.30 notice of statements within fifteen days.

Worked example

A caller reports a burglary in progress. You see a man matching the description leaving a garage with a pillowcase, and he runs. You have probable cause to arrest for burglary in the third degree (entry with intent to commit a crime inside). If he shoved the homeowner down during the escape, physical injury elevates the robbery count to the second degree. Flight supports the arrest but is not itself the crime.

Traps

Calling a violation a crime; confusing CPL 30.30 with constitutional speedy trial (CPL 30.20 and its factors); assuming presence is required for felony arrests; charging a degree without naming the aggravating fact.