Arrest without a warrant; dismissal of insufficient local criminal court accusatory instrument · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 140.45 Arrest without a warrant; dismissal of insufficient local
criminal court accusatory instrument.
If a local criminal court accusatory instrument filed with a local criminal court pursuant to section 140.20, 140.25 or 140.40 is not sufficient on its face, as prescribed in section 100.40, and if the court is satisfied that on the basis of the available facts or evidence it would be impossible to draw and file an accusatory instrument which is sufficient on its face, it must dismiss such accusatory instrument and discharge the defendant.
If an accusatory instrument filed after a warrantless arrest under § 140.20, § 140.25, or § 140.40 is facially insufficient under § 100.40, and the available facts make a sufficient replacement impossible, the court must dismiss the instrument and discharge the defendant. ★
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 2 — The Court Officer: Criminal Procedure Law; Volume 2 — Your Career: Criminal Procedure in Plain English.