In re Kerwin C.
Opinion of the Court
—In a juvenile delinquency proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 3, the appeal is from an order of disposition of the Family Court, Queens County (Friedman, J.), dated September 7, 1993, which, upon a fact-finding order of the same court, dated July 19, 1993, made, after a hearing, finding that the appellant had committed an act which, if committed by an adult, would have constituted the crime of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, adjudged him to be a juvenile delinquent and placed him with the Division for Youth for a period of 18 months.
Ordered that the order of disposition is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.
The verified petition in this juvenile delinquency proceeding alleged that the appellant committed acts which, if committed by an adult, would constitute the crimes of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third, fourth, and fifth degrees and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third, fifth, and seventh degrees. Annexed to the petition were supporting depositions of the arresting officer and an undercover officer stating that the appellant, acting in concert with two other individuals, sold crack cocaine to the undercover officer. A police laboratory report was also attached identifying the substance as cocaine. The report, although not sworn to, was signed by a chemist beneath a certification which included a form notice acknowledging that false statements made therein were punishable pursuant to Penal Law § 210.45. We would note that the language used in the certification was different than that disapproved in Matter of Rodney J. (83 NY2d 503). On appeal, the appellant contends that the petition must be dismissed as jurisdictionally defective because the unsworn laboratory report, while containing the requisite nonhearsay allegations, was not properly verified and therefore insufficient to establish an essential element of the crimes charged (see, Family Ct Act § 311.2 [3]). We disagree.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.