In re Paul L.
Opinion of the Court
—In a juvenile delinquency proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 3, the appeal is from (1) an order of disposition of the Family Court, Kings County (Schechter, J.), dated February 24, 1993, which, upon a fact-finding order of the same court dated January 28, 1993, made after a hearing, finding that the appellant had committed an act which, if committed by an adult, would have
Ordered that the orders of disposition are affirmed, without costs or disbursements.
We disagree with the appellant’s contention that the case under Kings County Docket No. 831/93 should have been dismissed for failure to prosecute or in the furtherance of justice on the ground of "exceptionally serious misconduct” of the presentment agency (Family Ct Act § 315.2 [1] [c]). A presentment agency is not required to join in a single petition all offenses arising out of . the same underlying circumstances (see, Matter of Lee M., 126 AD2d 645, 646). The appellant’s argument that the delay by the presentment agency in filing the instant petition made it impossible to consolidate this case with a previous case purportedly arising out of the same circumstances pursuant to Family Court Act § 311.6 (4) is without merit. The crimes shared no elements and were, therefore, separate and distinct criminal transactions and not joinable in accord with Family Court Act § 311.6. Accordingly, the crimes were properly charged in separate petitions (see, Matter of Lee M., supra).
Moreover, the record does not support the appellant’s contention that the presentment agency delayed the case deliberately as part of a strategy. Thus, contrary to the appellant’s assertion, the delay in prosecuting the drug charges did not constitute "any exceptionally serious misconduct of law enforcement personnel in the * * * presentment of the petition” (Family Ct Act § 315.2 [1] [c]).
We further find that it cannot reasonably be maintained that the court’s findings in this case were "manifestly errone-
We find no merit to the appellant’s remaining contentions. Balletta, J. P., Ritter, Copertino and Friedmann, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.