Articles Posted in CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

In any New York criminal case where the prosecution has obtained evidence such as guns or narcotics, that they intend to introduce at trial, one of the first areas a criminal defense attorney will explore is why the police stopped/seized and searched the defendant, his home, his vehicle etc. If the stop/seizure was illegal, all evidence obtained as a result of the stop should be suppressed.

In People v. Sobotker, 43 N.Y.2d 559 (1978), the police observed a vehicle driving slowly at night in a well traveled and well lit entertainment and shopping area. Several burglaries had recently taken place in the area. The police observed the occupants glance towards a bar as the vehicle actually came to a stop and paused for two seconds. The vehicle then continued to a stop sign where the police claimed the occupants glanced towards a second bar. At that point, the police stopped the vehicle. The driver exited the vehicle and told the police he did not have a license nor could he produce a registration card. The passengers were then ordered out of the vehicle and during a pat-down search, bullets were found in the pocket of one of the passengers. A gun was subsequently found in the vehicle.

The defendant’s motion to suppress the weapon and the bullets was denied and defendant was convicted of Unlawful Possession of Weapons by Persons Under Sixteen in violation of Penal Law 265.05. The Appellate Division affirmed the denial of defendant’s suppression motion however, the Court of Appeals reversed holding that there was no objective evidence of criminal activity as of the time of the stop. The defendant’s “innocuous” acts of pausing in front of a bar and stopping at a stop sign did not reasonably denote criminal activity. The gun and bullets were therefore suppressed, the judgment vacated and the indictment dismissed.

A police officer may not stop your vehicle based upon hunches or gut feelings. A vehicle may only be stopped if the officer has reasonable suspicion of a violation of the law or in accordance with nonarbitrary, nondiscriminatory, uniform procedures, such as at roadblocks, checkpoints and weighing stations.
In People v. Reynolds, 185 Misc.2d 674, 713 N.Y.S.2d 813 (N.Y.Co.Ct. 2000), the Monroe County Court held that an officer observing a known male prostitute entering a vehicle was insufficient to justify the stop of that vehicle. In fact, the Court suppressed a computer check of the vehicle’s registration. In Reynolds, the officer observed a known male prostitute enter a parked pick-up truck which then pulled away. The officer followed the pick-up truck and ran a computer check on the license plate number which revealed an expired registration. The officer then stopped the vehicle, separated the driver and passenger at which time he observed the driver the exhibit signs of intoxication. The driver was subsequently charged with Driving While Intoxicated. No prostitution related charges were ever filed.

As discussed in the previous blog New York police are limited in the way they interact with civilians that they encounter on the street. If the police overstep their authority an experienced criminal defense attorney can use the police conduct to get evidence in a case suppressed.

Below are the four levels of intrusion as set forth by the New York Court of Appeals in Debour. Keep in mind that each case is an individual and may be affected by the minute details of the case.

Level 1 “Request for Information”: The police may approach a civilian when they have some articulable, objective credible reason for doing so even if that reason is not necessarily indicative of criminality. This is not equivalent to a stop. These encounters should be brief and not be harassing or intimidating. For example, approaching possible witnesses to a crime and checking to see if everyone involved in an accident is alright.

In New York, a large body of law has developed around police interaction with civilians that they encounter on the street. When may a police officer approach you for information, question you about criminal activity, detain you and finally, arrest you? Experienced New York criminal defense lawyers must be well versed in this area of law. If the police overstep their authority and thereby obtain evidence, skilled criminal attorneys can challenge that evidence in Court at a suppression hearing and have the evidence suppressed. Suppression of evidence can lead to the dismissal or reduction of charges, favorable jury verdicts and favorable plea bargains. Here at Tilem & Campbell, we have used suppression to obtain dismissals of some tough cases.

Suppression, can be especially valuable in fighting drug cases or gun cases since without the contraband as evidence, the case is almost always dismissed. But suppression can also be useful to prevent the admission at trial of statements, identifications, physical evidence of criminal activity or electronic surveillance.

No two cases are alike and each case and each set of facts must be analyzed by analogizing from previously decided cases with similar facts. In a well written and thorough decision, the New York Court of Appeals developed four “Levels” of police intrusions with each Level being based upon the intensity of the intrusion upon the civilian’s life. See People v. De Bour, 40 N.Y.2d 210 (1976). These four level have become the guiding principle for police encounters with civilians on the streets of New York. So much so that New York Courts have cited to Debour well over 1600 times in judicial opinions that have been published in New York. That means that in the more than 33years since Debour was decided, New York Courts cited to it on average about 50 times per year in published opinions.