New York statute
N.Y. Criminal Procedure Law § 100.05 — Commencement of action; in general
Current through 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17)
Part of Article 100: Commencement of Action In Local Criminal Court or Youth Part of a Superior Court--accusatory Instruments, New York Criminal Procedure Law.
Full text of N.Y. Criminal Procedure Law § 100.05
Statutory text current through the 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17). This publication reproduces the text of the Consolidated Laws of New York as provided by the New York State Senate's Open Legislation service (Legislative Bill Drafting Commission statutory text); it is not the official statutes of the State of New York.
100.05 Commencement of action; in general.
A criminal action is commenced by the filing of an accusatory
instrument with a criminal court, or, in the case of a juvenile offender
or adolescent offender, other than an adolescent offender charged with
only a violation or traffic infraction, the youth part of the superior
court, and if more than one such instrument is filed in the course of
the same criminal action, such action commences when the first of such
instruments is filed. The only way in which a criminal action can be
commenced in a superior court, other than a criminal action against a
juvenile offender or adolescent offender is by the filing therewith by a
grand jury of an indictment against a defendant who has never been held
by a local criminal court for the action of such grand jury with respect
to any charge contained in such indictment. Otherwise, a criminal action
can be commenced only in a local criminal court, by the filing therewith
of a local criminal court accusatory instrument, namely:
1. An information; or
2. A simplified information; or
3. A prosecutor's information; or
4. A misdemeanor complaint; or
5. A felony complaint.
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