The Second Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Cohen, in a matter of first impression, determined the defendant did not have standing to move to suppress firearms found in his bedroom in an apartment. Defendant had been living with the family who leased the apartment. Based on failure to pay rent, the marshal changed the locks, leaving the possessions inside, thereby tendering “legal possession” of the apartment to the landlord. Answering a complaint of trespass, police officers entered the apartment and found one of the family members who had been renting it inside. The police searched the apartment and seized several handguns in defendant’s room. The defendant argued that the People did not demonstrate the eviction (legal possession) had been done legally, and therefore he had standing to move to suppress. But the Second Department noted that defendant, who had relied on the evidence presented by the People, did not demonstrate the eviction (legal possession) was illegal and therefore did not meet his burden of proof on that issue. The defendant also argued that he had an expectation of privacy in the bedroom at the time it was searched. But the Second Department determined once the legal possession was accomplished, defendant had no right to enter the apartment, and therefore had no expectation of privacy in his former bedroom:
… [T]he defendant, to establish his standing, relied on the evidence presented by the People regarding the execution of the warrant of eviction…. [W]hile the defendant is correct that the “Marshal’s Legal Possession” letter did not establish that the legal possession had been obtained legally, it likewise did not establish that the legal possession had been obtained illegally.
… [T]he defendant failed to satisfy his burden of establishing that he had standing to challenge the search of his former bedroom and seizure of the guns and ammunition based upon the alleged illegality of the legal possession … . * * *
Here, the legal possession gave the landlord the right to possess the apartment and remove the tenants and occupants. Although their belongings remained in the apartment, thereby necessarily creating a bailment, the tenants and occupants no longer had a legal right to possess or control the subject apartment, nor to enter or remain therein. Given that the defendant had no legal right to possess or control the subject apartment after the landlord was given legal possession thereof, any subjective expectation of privacy he manifested in the bedroom which he had occupied in the apartment was not objectively reasonable … . People v McCullum, 2018 NY Slip Op 00570, Second Dept 1-31-18
CRIMINAL LAW (SUPPRESSION, ONCE THE LOCKS ON THE APARTMENT WERE CHANGED PURSUANT TO A LEGAL POSSESSION, DEFENDANT NO LONGER HAD A LEGITIMATE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY IN HIS BEDROOM, DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THE LEGAL POSSESSION WAS ILLEGAL, DEFENDANT DID NOT HAVE STANDING TO SEEK SUPPRESSION OF THE FIREARMS FOUND IN HIS BEDROOM (SECOND DEPT))/EVIDENCE (CRIMINAL LAW, SUPPRESSION, ONCE THE LOCKS ON THE APARTMENT WERE CHANGED PURSUANT TO A LEGAL POSSESSION, DEFENDANT NO LONGER HAD A LEGITIMATE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY IN HIS BEDROOM, DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THE LEGAL POSSESSION WAS ILLEGAL, DEFENDANT DID NOT HAVE STANDING TO SEEK SUPPRESSION OF THE FIREARMS FOUND IN HIS BEDROOM (SECOND DEPT))/SEARCH AND SEIZURE (CRIMINAL LAW, SUPPRESSION, ONCE THE LOCKS ON THE APARTMENT WERE CHANGED PURSUANT TO A LEGAL POSSESSION, DEFENDANT NO LONGER HAD A LEGITIMATE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY IN HIS BEDROOM, DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THE LEGAL POSSESSION WAS ILLEGAL, DEFENDANT DID NOT HAVE STANDING TO SEEK SUPPRESSION OF THE FIREARMS FOUND IN HIS BEDROOM (SECOND DEPT))/STANDING (CRIMINAL LAW, SEARCH AND SEIZURE, SUPPRESSION, ONCE THE LOCKS ON THE APARTMENT WERE CHANGED PURSUANT TO A LEGAL POSSESSION, DEFENDANT NO LONGER HAD A LEGITIMATE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY IN HIS BEDROOM, DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THE LEGAL POSSESSION WAS ILLEGAL, DEFENDANT DID NOT HAVE STANDING TO SEEK SUPPRESSION OF THE FIREARMS FOUND IN HIS BEDROOM (SECOND DEPT))/LANDLORD-TENANT (LEGAL POSSESSION, CRIMINAL LAW, ONCE THE LOCKS ON THE APARTMENT WERE CHANGED PURSUANT TO A LEGAL POSSESSION, DEFENDANT NO LONGER HAD A LEGITIMATE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY IN HIS BEDROOM, DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THE LEGAL POSSESSION WAS ILLEGAL, DEFENDANT DID NOT HAVE STANDING TO SEEK SUPPRESSION OF THE FIREARMS FOUND IN HIS BEDROOM (SECOND DEPT))/LEGAL POSSESSION (LANDLORD-TENANT, ONCE THE LOCKS ON THE APARTMENT WERE CHANGED PURSUANT TO A LEGAL POSSESSION, DEFENDANT NO LONGER HAD A LEGITIMATE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY IN HIS BEDROOM, DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THE LEGAL POSSESSION WAS ILLEGAL, DEFENDANT DID NOT HAVE STANDING TO SEEK SUPPRESSION OF THE FIREARMS FOUND IN HIS BEDROOM (SECOND DEPT))/EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY (CRIMINAL LAW, SEARCH AND SEIZURE, ONCE THE LOCKS ON THE APARTMENT WERE CHANGED PURSUANT TO A LEGAL POSSESSION, DEFENDANT NO LONGER HAD A LEGITIMATE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY IN HIS BEDROOM, DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THE LEGAL POSSESSION WAS ILLEGAL, DEFENDANT DID NOT HAVE STANDING TO SEEK SUPPRESSION OF THE FIREARMS FOUND IN HIS BEDROOM (SECOND DEPT))/EVICTION (CRIMINAL LAW, SEARCH AND SEIZURE, LEGAL POSSESSION, ONCE THE LOCKS ON THE APARTMENT WERE CHANGED PURSUANT TO A LEGAL POSSESSION, DEFENDANT NO LONGER HAD A LEGITIMATE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY IN HIS BEDROOM, DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THE LEGAL POSSESSION WAS ILLEGAL, DEFENDANT DID NOT HAVE STANDING TO SEEK SUPPRESSION OF THE FIREARMS FOUND IN HIS BEDROOM (SECOND DEPT))