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Attorneys, Criminal Law, Vehicle and Traffic Law

DRIVER WAS NOT SUFFICIENTLY WARNED OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF WAITING FOR A RETURN CALL FROM HIS ATTORNEY CONCERNING WHETHER HE SHOULD SUBMIT TO A BLOOD ALCOHOL TEST, ARRESTING OFFICER DEEMED THE CIRCUMSTANCES TO CONSTITUTE A REFUSAL.

The Second Department determined the Department of Motor Vehicles’ finding that petitioner (driver) refused to submit to the chemical (blood alcohol) test after a vehicle stop must be annulled. Although the driver was warned that a refusal required the revocation of his license, he was not told that waiting for a return call from his attorney had been deemed a refusal by the arresting officer:

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A motorist under arrest based on an alleged violation of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192 may not condition his or her consent to a chemical test on first being permitted to consult with counsel … . Nonetheless, the consequences of refusing to accede to a chemical test may be imposed only if the motorist, after being adequately warned of those consequences, has refused to accede to the test (see Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1194[2][b], [f]). The adequacy of the warning is the same for the consequence imposed by Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1194(2)(b) (suspension and ultimate revocation of the motorist’s driver license) and the consequence imposed by Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1194(2)(f) (admissibility of evidence of refusal at a subsequent criminal trial) … . Here, the undisputed evidence at the hearing held pursuant to Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1194(2)(c) failed to establish that the petitioner was warned that his time for deliberation had expired and his further request to consult with counsel, which the police sought to accommodate, would be deemed a refusal to accede to the chemical test … . We emphasize that our determination is not based on any violation of any purported right to counsel … , but on the adequacy of the warnings that the request to consult with counsel would constitute a refusal to accede to the chemical test … . Matter of Lamb v Egan, 2017 NY Slip Op 03751, 2nd Dept 5-10-17

CRIMINAL LAW (DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED, CHEMICAL TEST, DRIVER WAS NOT SUFFICIENTLY WARNED OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF WAITING FOR A RETURN CALL FROM HIS ATTORNEY CONCERNING WHETHER HE SHOULD SUBMIT TO A BLOOD ALCOHOL TEST, ARRESTING OFFICER DEEMED THE CIRCUMSTANCES TO CONSTITUTE A REFUSAL)/VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW (DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED, CHEMICAL TEST, DRIVER WAS NOT SUFFICIENTLY WARNED OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF WAITING FOR A RETURN CALL FROM HIS ATTORNEY CONCERNING WHETHER HE SHOULD SUBMIT TO A BLOOD ALCOHOL TEST, ARRESTING OFFICER DEEMED THE CIRCUMSTANCES TO CONSTITUTE A REFUSAL)/DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED (CHEMICAL TEST, REFUSAL, DRIVER WAS NOT SUFFICIENTLY WARNED OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF WAITING FOR A RETURN CALL FROM HIS ATTORNEY CONCERNING WHETHER HE SHOULD SUBMIT TO A BLOOD ALCOHOL TEST, ARRESTING OFFICER DEEMED THE CIRCUMSTANCES TO CONSTITUTE A REFUSAL)/CHEMICAL TEST (DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED, REFUSAL, DRIVER WAS NOT SUFFICIENTLY WARNED OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF WAITING FOR A RETURN CALL FROM HIS ATTORNEY CONCERNING WHETHER HE SHOULD SUBMIT TO A BLOOD ALCOHOL TEST, ARRESTING OFFICER DEEMED THE CIRCUMSTANCES TO CONSTITUTE A REFUSAL)

May 10, 2017
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Civil Procedure, Civil Rights Law, Criminal Law, Municipal Law

PLAINTIFF STATED A CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST THE COUNTY UNDER 42 USC 1983 FOR VIOLATION OF HIS RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL.

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff had stated a cause of action under 18 USC 1983, against the county, for violation of his right to a speedy trial:

We reject the County’s argument that it cannot be held liable pursuant to 42 USC § 1983 for the alleged misconduct of the office of the District Attorney. Where, as here, a complaint alleges a failure to train and supervise employees regarding legal obligations, “liability for the District Attorney’s actions in his role as a manager of the District Attorney’s office rests with the county” …  and a claim pursuant to 42 USC § 1983 may therefore be maintained against the County for the conduct of the District Attorney’s office insofar as the District Attorney acted as a County policymaker … . Moreover, here, the complaint sufficiently alleges that the District Attorney’s office failed to train and supervise its assistant district attorneys with respect to the constitutional speedy trial rights of the accused persons with whom they interacted, to the extent that they manifested deliberate indifference to those rights … . Victor v County of Suffolk, 2017 NY Slip Op 03796, 2nd Dept 5-10-17

CRIMINAL LAW (PLAINTIFF STATED A CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST THE COUNTY UNDER 18 USC 1983 FOR VIOLATION OF HIS RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL)/CIVIL RIGHTS LAW (18 USC 1983) (SPEEDY TRIAL, PLAINTIFF STATED A CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST THE COUNTY UNDER 18 USC 1983 FOR VIOLATION OF HIS RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL)/MUNICIPAL LAW (SPEEDY TRIAL, PLAINTIFF STATED A CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST THE COUNTY UNDER 18 USC 1983 FOR VIOLATION OF HIS RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL)/SPEEDY TRIAL (CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATION, PLAINTIFF STATED A CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST THE COUNTY UNDER 18 USC 1983 FOR VIOLATION OF HIS RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL)

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May 10, 2017
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Attorneys, Criminal Law

PROSECUTOR ACTED AS AN UNSWORN WITNESS DURING SUMMATION, PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT MANDATED A NEW TRIAL.

The Second Department, reversing defendant’s conviction, determined prosecutorial misconduct deprived defendant of a fair trial:

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… [T]he prosecutor acted as an unsworn witness when he addressed the impeachment of one of the People’s main witnesses, a sister of the complainant (hereinafter the sister). During cross-examination, the sister was impeached by inconsistent testimony she gave in the grand jury proceeding. During summation, the prosecutor argued to the jury that defense counsel had “selected certain portions out of context in the grand jury minutes,” and that the jury “didn’t get the entire grand jury minutes” … . These comments were particularly prejudicial. The sister’s testimony, and thus her credibility, were crucial to the People’s proof against the defendant, which was less than overwhelming. The prosecutor’s comments suggested, without any evidentiary support, that the jury should disregard the sister’s grand jury testimony, in which she failed to name the defendant as a participant in the subject assault, because there was more to the testimony than they knew.

In addition, in reference to the father of the complainant and the sister, who was present during the subject assault but was not called to testify, resulting in a missing witness charge, the prosecutor improperly suggested, and invited the jury to speculate, that the father would have given testimony supportive of his children had he been called to testify … . People v Ramirez, 2017 NY Slip Op 03780, 2nd Dept 5-10-17

 

CRIMINAL LAW (PROSECUTOR ACTED AS AN UNSWORN WITNESS DURING SUMMATION, PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT MANDATED A NEW TRIAL)/ATTORNEYS (CRIMINAL LAW, PROSECUTOR ACTED AS AN UNSWORN WITNESS DURING SUMMATION, PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT MANDATED A NEW TRIAL)/PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT (PROSECUTOR ACTED AS AN UNSWORN WITNESS DURING SUMMATION, PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT MANDATED A NEW TRIAL)

May 10, 2017
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Criminal Law

JUROR MISCONDUCT REQUIRED A NEW TRIAL, JURORS SHARED INFORMATION FROM A FORMER DA AND A FORMER POLICE OFFICER DURING DELIBERATIONS.

The Second Department, reversing defendant’s conviction, determined juror misconduct required a new trial. During deliberations two jurors shared information concerning trial evidence which was provided in one case by a former assistant district attorney and in the other by a retired police officer:

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… [O]ne of the jurors improperly shared the views of her husband, who was a retired assistant district attorney, by telling the other jurors that he told her that everything the prosecutors said was true, that law enforcement officers would not lie, that the accomplice could never have come up with such an extravagant story in such a limited amount of time, and that crime scene videos didn’t show everything. Moreover, the evidence established that the juror’s comments regarding her husband’s statements influenced one juror who testified at the hearing. Additionally, another juror testified that during deliberations she sent a text message to her uncle, a retired police officer, and asked him if a nine millimeter bullet could fit into a .40 caliber gun. Her uncle told her “no,” and the following day she shared that information with the jury. People v Plowden, 2017 NY Slip Op 03779, 2nd Dept 5-10-17

CRIMINAL LAW (JUROR MISCONDUCT REQUIRED A NEW TRIAL, JURORS SHARED INFORMATION FROM A FORMER DA AND A FORMER POLICE OFFICER DURING DELIBERATIONS)/JURORS (CRIMINAL LAW, JUROR MISCONDUCT REQUIRED A NEW TRIAL, JURORS SHARED INFORMATION FROM A FORMER DA AND A FORMER POLICE OFFICER DURING DELIBERATIONS)

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May 10, 2017
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Appeals, Criminal Law, Evidence

DEFENDANT’S STATEMENT WAS NOT ADMISSIBLE AS SPONTANEOUS, CASE HELD IN RESERVE TO ALLOW COUNTY COURT TO RULE ON OTHER ISSUES RAISED IN OPPOSITION TO THE SUPPRESSION MOTION.

The Fourth Department held the case in reserve to allow County Court to rule on other issues raised in opposition to defendant’s suppression motion, but specifically found County Court’s ruling the statement was admissible as “spontaneous” was error:

“Volunteered statements are admissible provided the defendant spoke with genuine spontaneity and [the statements were] not the result of inducement, provocation, encouragement or acquiescence, no matter how subtly employed’ ” … . Such statements must be proven to be “spontaneous in the literal sense of that word as having been made without apparent external cause, . . . [and] it must at least be shown that they were in no way the product of an interrogation environment’ ” … . “Rather, [the statement] must satisfy the test for a blurted out admission, a statement which is in effect forced upon the officer” … .

Here, defendant’s statement was provoked or encouraged by the presentation or discussion of evidence suggestive of his criminal conduct, and we thus conclude that it cannot be deemed “spontaneous in the literal sense of that word as having been made without apparent external cause” … . “Although there may be other reasons to justify the denial of defendant’s motion, the only issues that we may consider on this appeal are those that may have adversely affected the appellant’ ” … . We therefore hold this case, reserve decision, and remit the matter to County Court to rule upon any other issues raised by the People in opposition to the motion. People v Ibarrondo, 2017 NY Slip Op 03643, 4th Dept 5-5-17

 

CRIMINAL LAW (DEFENDANT’S STATEMENT WAS NOT ADMISSIBLE AS SPONTANEOUS, CASE HELD IN RESERVE TO ALLOW COUNTY COURT TO RULE ON OTHER ISSUES RAISED IN OPPOSITION TO THE SUPPRESSION MOTION)/APPEALS (CRIMINAL LAW, DEFENDANT’S STATEMENT WAS NOT ADMISSIBLE AS SPONTANEOUS, CASE HELD IN RESERVE TO ALLOW COUNTY COURT TO RULE ON OTHER ISSUES RAISED IN OPPOSITION TO THE SUPPRESSION MOTION)/EVIDENCE (CRIMINAL LAW, DEFENDANT’S STATEMENT WAS NOT ADMISSIBLE AS SPONTANEOUS, CASE HELD IN RESERVE TO ALLOW COUNTY COURT TO RULE ON OTHER ISSUES RAISED IN OPPOSITION TO THE SUPPRESSION MOTION)/SUPPRESSION (STATEMENTS, DEFENDANT’S STATEMENT WAS NOT ADMISSIBLE AS SPONTANEOUS, CASE HELD IN RESERVE TO ALLOW COUNTY COURT TO RULE ON OTHER ISSUES RAISED IN OPPOSITION TO THE SUPPRESSION MOTION)/SPONTANEOUS STATEMENTS (CRIMINAL LAW, DEFENDANT’S STATEMENT WAS NOT ADMISSIBLE AS SPONTANEOUS, CASE HELD IN RESERVE TO ALLOW COUNTY COURT TO RULE ON OTHER ISSUES RAISED IN OPPOSITION TO THE SUPPRESSION MOTION)

May 5, 2017
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Criminal Law, Evidence

AFTER A WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE ANALYSIS, THE COURT CONCLUDED THE PROOF DID NOT DEMONSTRATE BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT THAT DEFENDANT SHARED THE INTENT OF HIS SON, WHO STABBED THE VICTIM EIGHT TIMES.

The Fourth Department, after conducting a weight of the evidence analysis, determined the proof was not sufficient to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant shared the intent of his son who stabbed the victim eight times. Therefore the assault first conviction was reversed. The proof indicated the defendant may have been away from the victim, looking for his dog, when his son stabbed the victim:

Although “all of the elements [of the crime] and necessary findings are supported by some credible evidence,” we conclude that an acquittal would not have been unreasonable … . We therefore must “independently assess all the proof; substitute [our] own credibility determinations for those made by the jury [if necessary]; determine whether the verdict was factually correct; and acquit . . . defendant if [we] are not convinced that the jury was justified in finding that guilt was proven beyond a reasonable doubt”… . Here, defendant was charged as an accessory, and thus the People had to “prove beyond a reasonable doubt that [defendant] acted with the mental culpability necessary to commit the crime charged and that, in furtherance thereof, he solicited, requested, commanded, importuned, or intentionally aided the principal to commit such crime”  … . We conclude that the People failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant acted with the requisite mental culpability to commit assault in the first degree by causing serious physical injury to the victim by the use of a dangerous instrument, or that he solicited, requested, commanded, importuned or intentionally aided his son in committing the offense … . People v Farley, 2017 NY Slip Op 03634, 4th Dept 5-5-17

CRIMINAL LAW (AFTER A WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE ANALYSIS, THE COURT CONCLUDED THE PROOF DID NOT DEMONSTRATE BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT THAT DEFENDANT SHARED THE INTENT OF HIS SON, WHO STABBED THE VICTIM EIGHT TIMES)/EVIDENCE (CRIMINAL LAW, ACCOMPLICE, ACCESSORY LIABILITY, AFTER A WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE ANALYSIS, THE COURT CONCLUDED THE PROOF DID NOT DEMONSTRATE BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT THAT DEFENDANT SHARED THE INTENT OF HIS SON, WHO STABBED THE VICTIM EIGHT TIMES)/ACCOMPLICE, ACCESSORY LIABILITY (AFTER A WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE ANALYSIS, THE COURT CONCLUDED THE PROOF DID NOT DEMONSTRATE BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT THAT DEFENDANT SHARED THE INTENT OF HIS SON, WHO STABBED THE VICTIM EIGHT TIMES)/WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE (CRIMINAL LAW, AFTER A WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE ANALYSIS, THE COURT CONCLUDED THE PROOF DID NOT DEMONSTRATE BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT THAT DEFENDANT SHARED THE INTENT OF HIS SON, WHO STABBED THE VICTIM EIGHT TIMES)

May 5, 2017
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Appeals, Criminal Law

IDENTIFICATION PROCEDURE WAS UNDULY SUGGESTIVE, OFFICER WAS TOLD WHO THE POLICE WERE SEEKING TO IDENTIFY BEFORE VIEWING A SURVEILLANCE VIDEO, ALTHOUGH THE ISSUE WAS NOT PRESERVED FOR APPEAL IN THE MOTION PAPERS, IT IS APPEALABLE BECAUSE COUNTY COURT ADDRESSED IT. 

The Fourth Department, reserving on the appeal until County Court rules on other issues related to the suppression of the identification of the defendant, determined County Court erred when it concluded the identification of the defendant by a parole officer viewing a surveillance video was not an unduly suggestive procedure. The Fourth Department first noted that the issue was not preserved for appeal by the motion papers, but was appealable because County Court considered the issue in its findings. The Fourth Department held the procedure unduly suggestive because the parole officer was told who the police were seeking to identify before viewing the video:

… [W]e agree with defendant that, contrary to the court’s determination that “[t]here was no influence or suggestion” by the investigator, the evidence establishes that the investigator suggested to the parole officer prior to her identification that the person depicted committing the robbery on the surveillance video was defendant … . Instead of requesting the parole officer’s assistance in identifying someone from the video without preemptively disclosing the subject of his investigation, the investigator engaged in a conversation “about her being a parole officer for [defendant].” During the conversation, the investigator “asked [the parole officer] if she was familiar with [defendant].” The parole officer responded that she had “lots of contact” with defendant, so the investigator proceeded to ask her to “come down and view a video.” The investigator subsequently met with the parole officer at the police department and asked her to view the video to determine if she recognized anyone, and the parole officer identified defendant as the person committing the robbery. We conclude that the investigator, by contacting the parole officer and inquiring about her familiarity with defendant prior to the parole officer’s viewing of the video, engaged in … undue suggestiveness … inasmuch as his comments improperly suggested to the parole officer that the person she was about to view was a particular acquaintance of hers, i.e., defendant … . People v Gambale, 2017 NY Slip Op 03658, 4th Dept 5-5-17

 

May 5, 2017
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Attorneys, Criminal Law, Evidence

PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT AND INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE REQUIRED REVERSAL IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE.

The Fourth Department, in the interest of justice, reversed defendant’s conviction based upon prosecutorial misconduct and ineffective assistance of counsel (failure to object to the prosecutor’s remarks in summation and failure to object to evidence of defendant’s prior bad acts for which no admissibility ruling was sought):

Here, the prosecutor engaged in misconduct during her closing statement by repeatedly appealing to the jury’s sympathy, asking the jury to do justice and protect the victim by convicting defendant, bolstering the victim’s credibility and injecting the prosecutor’s personal opinions into the trial. Perhaps most egregiously, in arguing that the jury should reject defendant’s testimony that he confessed falsely to the police because he needed to use the bathroom, the prosecutor gave her personal opinion regarding defendant’s credibility by stating that she would sit in her own urine rather than falsely admit that she committed a crime. “We can only conclude herein that the prosecutor’s inflammatory [comments had] a decided tendency to prejudice the jury against the defendant’ “… . Consequently, we conclude that the cumulative effect of the prosecutorial misconduct, which substantially prejudiced defendant’s rights … , requires reversal.

Furthermore, “[i]n light of the foregoing, we agree with defendant’s related contention that he was denied effective assistance of counsel owing to defense counsel’s failure to object to the prosecutor’s misconduct during summation” … . Defense counsel also failed to object when the prosecutor introduced evidence of prior bad acts despite having failed to seek a ruling regarding the admissibility thereof, most notably the testimony of a sheriff’s deputy that, months before this incident, defendant stole the victim’s truck and was arrested for driving it while intoxicated while on the way to attack a person with whom he believed the victim was having an affair. Defense counsel also failed to object when the prosecutor cross-examined defendant regarding that issue. Thus, reversal is also required because defense counsel was ineffective in “fail[ing] to object to prejudicial evidence of prior uncharged crimes and bad acts introduced by the prosecutor” … . People v Case, 2017 NY Slip Op 03638, 4th Dept 5-5-17

 

CRIMINAL LAW (PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT AND INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE REQUIRED REVERSAL IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE)/ATTORNEYS (CRIMINAL LAW, PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT AND INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE REQUIRED REVERSAL IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE)/EVIDENCE (CRIMINAL LAW, FAILURE TO OBJECT TO EVIDENCE OF DEFENDANT’S PRIOR BAD ACTS, PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT AND INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE REQUIRED REVERSAL IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE)/APPEALS (CRIMINAL LAW, PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT AND INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE REQUIRED REVERSAL IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE)/PRIOR BAD ACTS (FAILURE TO OBJECT TO EVIDENCE OF DEFENDANT’S PRIOR BAD ACTS, PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT AND INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE REQUIRED REVERSAL IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE)

May 5, 2017
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Appeals, Criminal Law

A WRITTEN WAIVER OF APPEAL WAS NOT PART OF THE PLEA AGREEMENT, SENTENCE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ENHANCED FOR DEFENDANT’S REFUSING TO SIGN THE WRITTEN WAIVER.

The Fourth Department noted that the sentencing court did not have the power to enhance defendant’s sentence for refusing to sign a waiver of appeal because the plea agreement did not call for a written waiver:

While waiving the right to appeal was a condition of the plea bargain, the execution of a written waiver was not, and thus the court was not empowered to enhance the sentence on that ground … . We therefore modify the judgment by reducing the term of imprisonment from a determinate term of 25 years to a determinate term of 20 years, and the period of postrelease supervision from 5 years to 2½ years, in accordance with the plea agreement. People v Days, 2017 NY Slip Op 03632, 4th Dept 5-5-17

CRIMINAL LAW (A WRITTEN WAIVER OF APPEAL WAS NOT PART OF THE PLEA AGREEMENT, SENTENCE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ENHANCED FOR DEFENDANT’S REFUSING TO SIGN THE WRITTEN WAIVER)/APPEALS (CRIMINAL LAW, WAIVER, A WRITTEN WAIVER OF APPEAL WAS NOT PART OF THE PLEA AGREEMENT, SENTENCE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ENHANCED FOR DEFENDANT’S REFUSING TO SIGN THE WRITTEN WAIVER)/WAIVER OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL LAW, A WRITTEN WAIVER OF APPEAL WAS NOT PART OF THE PLEA AGREEMENT, SENTENCE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ENHANCED FOR DEFENDANT’S REFUSING TO SIGN THE WRITTEN WAIVER)

May 5, 2017
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Criminal Law, Evidence

RUNNING A DMV DATABASE SEARCH FOR A VEHICLE’S PLATE NUMBER IS NOT A SEARCH, THEREFORE THE DMV CHECK CAN BE RUN WITHOUT ANY ARTICULABLE REASON FOR STOPPING A VEHICLE.

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge DiFiore, determined that a police officer’s observation of a license plate and running the registration number through the Department of Motor Vehicles’ (DMV’s) database is not a search. Here the officer did not observe any violation that warranted stopping defendant’s car. When the officer ran the plate number he learned defendant’s registration had been suspended due to unpaid parking tickets. The stop was for that reason alone. The officer ultimately arrested the defendant for Driving While Intoxicated:

As defendant concedes, a driver does not have any reasonable expectation of privacy in the license plate number itself, nor would any expectation in such publicly exposed information be recognized as reasonable by society. We now conclude that a driver has no expectation of privacy in the DMV database information associated with a license plate number. Our Vehicle and Traffic Law provides a comprehensive set of requirements for lawfully operating a vehicle in the State of New York.  * * *

While “a police officer may [not] stop an automobile, arbitrarily chosen from the stream of traffic on a public highway only because of the unusual but irrelevant appearance of the vehicle, solely to examine the motorist’s license and registration” … , defendant’s freedom of movement was never “stopped” until after the officer ran his license plate and obtained probable cause to believe the vehicle was being operated with a suspended registration. We prohibit arbitrary traffic stops because they constitute unreasonable “seizures” of persons in violation of the constitution … . But here, the stop of defendant’s car occurred only after the check had supplied the officer a reason to do so. And while we are mindful of the concerns about license plate checks, “the possibilities of database error and police officer abuse, while real, do not create a legitimate expectation of privacy where none existed before. Government actions do not become Fourth Amendment searches simply because they might be carried out improperly. If an officer does go outside the proper bounds of a license plate search, it is that misconduct that might give rise to a constitutional or statutory violation” … .  People v Bushey, 2017 NY Slip Op 03560, CtApp 5-4-17

 

CRIMINAL LAW (RUNNING A DMV DATABASE SEARCH FOR A VEHICLE’S PLATE NUMBER IS NOT A SEARCH, THEREFORE THE DMV CHECK CAN BE RUN WITHOUT ANY ARTICULABLE REASON FOR STOPPING A VEHICLE)/EVIDENCE (CRIMINAL LAW, RUNNING A DMV DATABASE SEARCH FOR A VEHICLE’S PLATE NUMBER IS NOT A SEARCH, THEREFORE THE DMV CHECK CAN BE RUN WITHOUT ANY ARTICULABLE REASON FOR STOPPING A VEHICLE)/SEARCH AND SEIZURE RUNNING A DMV DATABASE SEARCH FOR A VEHICLE’S PLATE NUMBER IS NOT A SEARCH, THEREFORE THE DMV CHECK CAN BE RUN WITHOUT ANY ARTICULABLE REASON FOR STOPPING A VEHICLE)/SUPPRESSION (RUNNING A DMV DATABASE SEARCH FOR A VEHICLE’S PLATE NUMBER IS NOT A SEARCH, THEREFORE THE DMV CHECK CAN BE RUN WITHOUT ANY ARTICULABLE REASON FOR STOPPING A VEHICLE)/STREET STOPS (RUNNING A DMV DATABASE SEARCH FOR A VEHICLE’S PLATE NUMBER IS NOT A SEARCH, THEREFORE THE DMV CHECK CAN BE RUN WITHOUT ANY ARTICULABLE REASON FOR STOPPING A VEHICLE)/REGISTRATION NUMBER (VEHICLES, CRIMINAL LAW, RUNNING A DMV DATABASE SEARCH FOR A VEHICLE’S PLATE NUMBER IS NOT A SEARCH, THEREFORE THE DMV CHECK CAN BE RUN WITHOUT ANY ARTICULABLE REASON FOR STOPPING A VEHICLE)/DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES (DATABASE CHECK OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION NUMBER, RUNNING A DMV DATABASE SEARCH FOR A VEHICLE’S PLATE NUMBER IS NOT A SEARCH, THEREFORE THE DMV CHECK CAN BE RUN WITHOUT ANY ARTICULABLE REASON FOR STOPPING A VEHICLE)

May 4, 2017
https://www.newyorkappellatedigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/NYAppelateLogo-White-1.png 0 0 CurlyHost https://www.newyorkappellatedigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/NYAppelateLogo-White-1.png CurlyHost2017-05-04 12:24:122020-01-27 18:54:46RUNNING A DMV DATABASE SEARCH FOR A VEHICLE’S PLATE NUMBER IS NOT A SEARCH, THEREFORE THE DMV CHECK CAN BE RUN WITHOUT ANY ARTICULABLE REASON FOR STOPPING A VEHICLE.
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