Judge Linda Poust Lopez
Lara was charged with Driving While Intoxicated on March 9, 2013, and moved for dismissal alleging that 149 days have elapsed since the action was commenced. Prosecutors disagreed arguing only 24 days of chargeable time have elapsed. The court noted prosecutors were entitled to 90 days from commencement of the criminal action to be ready for trial. The court deemed the accusatory instrument an information and arraigned Lara on it on May 14, 2013. It further noted once a court deemed a matter converted, prosecutors had a right to rely on such decision, thus were not required to obtain further corroboration of the complaint in order to validly state “ready for trial.” Thus, the court stated even if it now found, after written motions, the information was insufficient, the motion to dismiss under Criminal Procedure Law §30.30 would be denied as only 24 days were chargeable to prosecutors. Yet, it also stated the absence of date and time information from when the chemical test analysis was administered did not invalidate its clear connection between Lara’s testing and the instant complaint. Hence, to the extent Lara may raise a facial insufficiency argument, any motion to dismiss for such reason was denied.
