Although issuing a bad check is a relatively low level offense compared to other white collar crimes, it can still have long lasting effects on your life, career, and finances. Furthermore with the introduction of electronic check clearing, checks now clear in a few hours rather than a few days. This has resulted in more people facing prosecution for issuing a bad check because they mistakenly believed that their check would take days rather than hours to clear.

In Syracuse, in order to convict an individual of issuing a bad check, the government must prove the following beyond a reasonable doubt: that an individual either wrote a check themselves or passed a check from someone else, while knowing at the time that there were insufficient funds to cover the check, that there were in fact insufficient funds, the individual believed that the check will be refused when cashed, and the check was actually refused when attempted to be cashed.

[1]

In Syracuse, issuing a bad check (PL 190.05) is a class “B” misdemeanor, and is punishable by either three (3) months in jail, or one (1) year of probation, and with a fine of $500.[2] Additionally, the law governing issuing a bad check also helps make the government’s job easier by providing certain presumptions to alleviate certain details that the government would otherwise need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. An individual who writes a check from an account with insufficient funds is presumed under the law to have knowledge that there were insufficient funds. Furthermore, an individual who writes a check, or passes a check, with insufficient funds at the time the check is made, and with insufficient funds when the check is refused within thirty (30) days, is presumed to have believed at the time the check was made, that it would be refused.[3] Unfortunately these two presumptions allow individuals to be punished for innocent mistakes.

Issuing a Bad Check (PL 190.05) in Syracuse

“A person is guilty of issuing a bad check when:

  1. (a) As a drawer or representative drawer, he utters a check knowing that he or his principal, as the case may be, does not then have sufficient funds with the drawee to cover it, and (b) he intends or believes at the time of utterance that payment will be refused by the drawee upon presentation, and (c) payment is refused by the drawee upon presentation; or
  2. (a) He passes a check knowing that the drawer thereof does not then have sufficient funds with the drawee to cover it, and (b) he intends or believes at the time the check is passed that payment will be refused by the drawee upon presentation, and (c) payment is refused by the drawee upon presentation”

Conclusion

Although, as mentioned above, issuing a bad check is a relatively minor offense, the way the law is applied creates a large burden for an accused individual to overcome. While normally, the government must prove its’ case beyond a reasonable doubt, the statutory presumptions applied in connection with issuing a bad check essentially place the burden of proof on the accused individual. Often times it takes experienced attorneys who are willing to fight for you, to overcome the harsh presumptions imposed by law.

[1] New York Penal Law Section 190.05
[2] New York Penal Law Title E
[3] New York Penal Section 190.10