People Should Not Have Been Allowed to Reopen Pretrial Suppression Hearing

In a full-fledged opinion by Judge Read, the Court of Appeals determined the People should not have been allowed to reopen a suppression hearing and present additional evidence after the hearing officer had ruled the seized evidence, including a handgun, must be suppressed.  The key inquiry is whether the People had a full and fair opportunity to present evidence of the dispositive issues at the hearing.  If so, the hearing cannot be reopened, either after trial (on remand after an appeal) or, as in this case, at the pretrial stage:

In People v Havelka (45 NY2d 636 [1978]), we held that the People, if afforded a full and fair opportunity to present evidence of the dispositive issues at a suppression hearing, are not entitled to a remand after appeal for a reopened hearing.  We hold that the principles underlying Havelka have equivalent force in the pretrial setting, and preclude a trial judge from reopening a suppression hearing to give the People an opportunity to shore up their evidentiary or legal position absent a showing that they were deprived of a full and fair opportunity to be heard. People v Kevin W, 187, CtApp 11-21-13