Corporate defendants; prosecution thereof · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 600.20 Corporate defendants; prosecution thereof.
At all stages of a criminal action, from the commencement thereof through sentence, a corporate defendant must appear by counsel. Upon failure of appearance at the time such defendant is required to enter a plea to the accusatory instrument, the court may enter a plea of guilty and impose sentence.
A corporate defendant must appear through a lawyer at every stage, from commencement through sentence. If the corporation does not appear when required to plead, the court may enter a guilty plea and impose sentence. ★
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.