N.Y. CPL Law § 200.95 — New York Code / Act CPL / Part 2 / Title I / Article 200 / Section 200.95
Indictment; bill of particulars
Status: in_force

§ 200.95 Indictment; bill of particulars.\n  1. Definitions. (a) "Bill of particulars" is a written statement by\nthe prosecutor specifying, as required by this section, items of factual\ninformation which are not recited in the indictment and which pertain to\nthe offense charged and including the substance of each defendant's\nconduct encompassed by the charge which the people intend to prove at\ntrial on their direct case, and whether the people intend to prove that\nthe defendant acted as principal or accomplice or both, and items of\nfactual information which are not recited in a special forfeiture\ninformation or prosecutor's forfeiture information containing one or\nmore forfeiture counts and which pertain to the substance of each\ndefendant's conduct giving rise to the forfeiture claim, the approximate\nvalue of property for which forfeiture is sought, the nature and extent\nof the defendant's interest in such property, and the extent of the\ndefendant's gain, if any, from the offense charged. However, the\nprosecutor shall not be required to include in the bill of particulars\nmatters of evidence relating to how the people intend to prove the\nelements of the offense charged or how the people intend to prove any\nitem of factual information included in the bill of particulars.\n  (b) "Request for a bill of particulars" is a written request served by\ndefendant upon the people, without leave of the court, requesting a bill\nof particulars, specifying the items of factual information desired, and\nalleging that defendant cannot adequately prepare or conduct his defense\nwithout the information requested.\n  2. Bill of particulars upon request. Upon a timely request for a bill\nof particulars by a defendant against whom an indictment is pending, the\nprosecutor shall within fifteen days of the service of the request or as\nsoon thereafter as is practicable, serve upon the defendant or his\nattorney, and file with the court, the bill of particulars, except to\nthe extent the prosecutor shall have refused to comply with the request\npursuant to subdivision four of this section.\n  3. Timeliness of request. A request for a bill of particulars shall be\ntimely if made within thirty days after arraignment and before the\ncommencement of trial. If the defendant is not represented by counsel,\nand has requested an adjournment to obtain counsel or to have counsel\nassigned, the thirty day period shall commence, for the purposes of a\nrequest for a bill of particulars by the defendant, on the date counsel\ninitially appears on his behalf. However, the court may direct\ncompliance with a request for a bill of particulars that, for good cause\nshown, could not have been made within the time specified.\n  4. Request refused. The prosecutor may refuse to comply with the\nrequest for a bill of particulars or any portion of the request for a\nbill of particulars to the extent he reasonably believes that the item\nof factual information requested is not authorized to be included in a\nbill of particulars, or that such information is not necessary to enable\nthe defendant adequately to prepare or conduct his defense, or that a\nprotective order would be warranted or that the demand is untimely. Such\nrefusal shall be made in a writing, which shall set forth the grounds of\nsuch belief as fully as possible, consistent with the reason for the\nrefusal. Within fifteen days of the request or as soon thereafter as\npracticable, the refusal shall be served upon the defendant and a copy\nshall be filed with the court.\n  5. Court ordered bill of particulars. Where a prosecutor has timely\nserved a written refusal pursuant to subdivision four of this section\nand upon motion, made in writing, of a defendant, who has made a request\nfor a bill of particulars and whose request has not been complied with\nin whole or in part, the court must, to the extent a protective order is\nnot warranted, order the prosecutor to comply with the request if it is\nsatisfied that the items of factual information requested are authorized\nto be included in a bill of particulars, and that such information is\nnecessary to enable the defendant adequately to prepare or conduct his\ndefense and, if the request was untimely, a finding of good cause for\nthe delay. Where a prosecutor has not timely served a written refusal\npursuant to subdivision four of this section the court must, unless it\nis satisfied that the people have shown good cause why such an order\nshould not be issued, issue an order requiring the prosecutor to comply\nor providing for any other order authorized by section 245.80 of this\npart.\n  6. Motion procedure. A motion for a bill of particulars shall be made\nas prescribed in section 255.20. Upon an order granting a motion\npursuant to this section, the prosecutor must file with the court a bill\nof particulars, reciting every item of information designated in the\norder, and serve a copy thereof upon the defendant. Pending such filing\nand service, the proceedings are stayed.\n  7. Protective order. (a) The court in which the criminal action is\npending may, upon motion of the prosecutor, or of any affected person,\nor upon determination of a motion of defendant for a court ordered bill\nof particulars, or upon its own initiative, issue a protective order\ndenying, limiting, conditioning, delaying or regulating the bill of\nparticulars for good cause, including constitutional limitations, danger\nto the integrity of physical evidence or a substantial risk of physical\nharm, intimidation, economic reprisal, bribery or unjustified annoyance\nor embarrassment to any person or an adverse effect upon the legitimate\nneeds of law enforcement, including the protection of the\nconfidentiality of informants, or any other factor or set of factors\nwhich outweighs the need for the bill of particulars.\n  (b) An order limiting, conditioning, delaying or regulating the bill\nof particulars may, among other things, require that any material copied\nor derived therefrom be maintained in the exclusive possession of the\nattorney for the defendant and be used for the exclusive purpose of\npreparing for the defense of the criminal action.\n  8. Amendment. At any time before commencement of trial, the prosecutor\nmay, without leave of the court, serve upon defendant and file with the\ncourt an amended bill of particulars. At any time during trial, upon\napplication of the prosecutor and with notice to the defendant and an\nopportunity for him to be heard, the court must, upon finding that no\nundue prejudice will accrue to defendant and that the prosecutor has\nacted in good faith, permit the prosecutor to amend the bill of\nparticulars. Upon any amendment of the bill of particulars, the court\nmust, upon application of defendant, order an adjournment of the\nproceedings or any other action it deems appropriate which may, by\nreason of the amendment, be necessary to accord the defendant an\nadequate opportunity to defend.\n