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AN INDICATION THE DEFENDANT’S VEHICLE HAD BEEN IMPOUNDED, REVEALED WHEN THE TROOPER RAN THE PLATES, DID NOT SUPPORT THE TRAFFIC STOP; THE WEAPON AND DRUGS FOUND IN THE VEHICLE SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED; APPELLATE DIVISION REVERSED (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Wilson, over a concurring opinion and an extensive dissenting opinion, reversing the Appellate Division, determined the state trooper did not have probable cause or reasonable suspicion to support the traffic stop. The weapon and drugs found in a search of defendant’s (Mr. Hinshaw’s) car should have been suppressed. The stop was based entirely on an indication the car had been impounded revealed when the officer ran the plates. The notice explicitly stated it “should not be treated as a stolen vehicle hit:”

The trooper here did not observe any violations of the Vehicle and Traffic Law and “everything looked good.” Putting aside the result of the license plate inquiry, “[t]he trooper candidly testified that he had had no reason to stop defendant” … . …

The result of the license plate check provided neither probable cause to conclude a traffic infraction had occurred nor any basis for an objectively reasonable belief that criminal behavior had occurred or was afoot. Although the People and our dissenting colleague argue that the trooper understood the “generic” impound notification to require further investigation as to its cause, the trooper’s speculation that the car could have been impounded for “registration . . . problems,” the “plates could have been suspended,” “insurance could have been suspended,” or the vehicle could have been stolen was just that — pure speculation … . * * *

Because “there was not even a suggestion that the conduct of the defendant or his companions had been furtive in character before the police interfered with their car’s progress,” and “the record here is bare of any objective evidence of criminal activity as of the time of the stop” … , the stop of Mr. Hinshaw’s vehicle was invalid. People v Hinshaw, 2020 NY Slip Op 04816, CtApp 9-1-20

 

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