People v. Tosca

In People v. Tosca, 28 Misc 3d 465, 468, 896 N.Y.S.2d 667 (Crim. Ct. Bx. County, 2010), the defendant, while in police custody, was searched in Central Booking and found to possess two syringes; he was then charged with promoting prison contraband in the second degree. Basing its decision on legislative intent, the Bronx County Criminal Court dismissed the charge, determining a detention facility to be "any place used for the confinement of a person pursuant to an order of a court." Id. at 468. The defendant in Tosca was not yet arraigned, and there was no court order that the defendant be sent to a detention facility. Because there was no court order, the Court ruled that Central Booking was not a detention facility within the meaning of the statute. Id.