You are here: / / DEFENDANT WAS ALONE IN HIS CAR ARGUING WITH SOMEONE ON HIS PHONE WHEN THE...
,

DEFENDANT WAS ALONE IN HIS CAR ARGUING WITH SOMEONE ON HIS PHONE WHEN THE POLICE APPROACHED; THE POLICE DID NOT HAVE AN OBJECTIVE, CREDIBLE REASON FOR THE APPROACH; THE HANDGUN FOUND IN AN INVENTORY SEARCH SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing County Court and dismissing the indictment, determined the police officers did not have an objective credible reason for approaching defendant, who was in his car outside a nightclub just after the club closed. The defendant was arrested after a check on his license revealed it had been suspended. The handgun found in an inventory search of the car should have been suppressed:

… [D]efendant’s engagement in an argument on his cell phone while alone in his private vehicle — did not provide any apparent nexus to the drug and weapons crimes that police said were typically committed in the area, or give rise to any other objective reason to question his presence. Nothing about a driver’s conduct in arguing on a cell phone, without more, suggests criminal activity related to weapons or drugs … . A sole occupant of a private vehicle arguing with someone who is not present gives rise to no apparent reason for police to intervene, such as potential safety concerns … .

Thus, we find that police did not have the requisite objective, credible reason for approaching defendant’s vehicle in the first instance. The encounter was further invalid because police had no objective, credible reason to extend the initial conversation by running defendant’s driver’s license after he responded to their initial inquiry and provided the information they requested … . The officer gave no explanation for his decision to intrude further at that point, nor does the record reveal such an explanation. Nothing about the exchange with defendant gave rise to any reason to suspect that he was not telling the truth … . Defendant’s driver’s license did not appear to belong to someone else … or reveal anything unusual on its face … . Lacking an objective, credible reason that justified police in approaching defendant’s vehicle and making inquiries, the encounter was invalid at its inception … . People v Stover, 020 NY Slip Op 01676, Third Dept 3-12-20

 

You might also like
Plaintiff Properly Relied on the Doctrine of Res Ipsa Loquitur to Survive Summary Judgment
Court Deferred to the Agency’s Interpretation of a Statute Because the Interpretation Involved Knowledge and Understanding of the Underlying Operational Practices (In the Usual Case, a Court Will Not Defer to an Agency’s Interpretation of a Statute)/The Term “Business Enterprise” in Tax Law 14 (a) Refers to the Taxable Entity, Not the Legal Entity
No Duty to Defend Where Causes of Action Are Excluded from Coverage Under the Terms of the Policy
THE TRIAL PROOF COULD BE INTERPRETED TO SUPPORT AN INTENT TO CAUSE SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY (ASSAULT SECOND) OR AN INTENT TO CAUSE PHYSICAL INJURY (ASSAULT THIRD); DEFENDANT’S REQUEST THAT THE JURY BE INSTRUCTED ON ASSAULT THIRD AS A LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED; NEW TRIAL ORDERED ON THAT COUNT (THIRD DEPT).
GENERAL RELEASE WAS NOT LIMITED TO A 2007 ACTION AND THEREFORE PRECLUDED THE 2014 ACTION, A UNILATERAL MISTAKE DOES NOT INVALIDATE A CONTRACT (THIRD DEPT).
EMERGENCY EXCEPTION TO THE WARRANT REQUIREMENT DID NOT JUSTIFY ENTRY AND SEARCH OF DEFENDANT’S APARTMENT, CONVICTIONS REVERSED (THIRD DEPT).
ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL OF THE DENIAL OF DEFENDANT’S APPLICATION FOR PAROLE WAS TAINTED BY INACCURATE INFORMATION ABOUT THE OFFENSES COMMITTED BY DEFENDANT (THIRD DEPT).
Family Court Should Not Have Denied Nonparent’s Petition for Custody of a Child, and Awarded Custody to the Father and Mother, in the Absence of an Evidentiary Hearing

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

WATER CAP IN A SIDEWALK WAS A TRIVIAL DEFECT, SLIP AND FALL ACTION PROPERLY... FAILURE TO INCLUDE THE APPROXIMATE TIME OF THE COMMISSION OF THE OFFENSE IN...