In a case where the defendant faced a burglary charge, the Supreme Court, Erie County, granted the defendant’s motion seeking to suppress physical evidence and statements on the ground that the police lacked justification for detaining and searching him. The People appealed the decision. There is a well-established test for…
In a case involving marijuana possession, the Appellate Division reviewed what actions amount to the crime of tampering of physical evidence. On May 9, 2013, in the City of Newburgh, the defendant was stopped as it was suspected that he was violating the City’s open-container law. After the officer identified…
In this case, the appellate court considered whether evidence should have been suppressed because the defendant’s consent to having his car searched was not voluntary. In People v. Wright-Hale, the arresting officer went to a hotel in Queens in response to a 911 emergency call that someone was banging on…
In the case of People v. Sloley, the Appellate Court considered the question as to whether the jury properly concluded that a defendant constructively possessed a firearm. Constructive possession is a legal doctrine which allows prosecutors to bring criminal charges and potentially obtain convictions for possessory offenses in cases where…
In People v. McCoy, the defendant was convicted of three counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree. The convictions were based on the defendant being found to have constructively possessed a gun. Constructive…
In a case where the defendant was charged with 75 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree and criminal possession of a forgery device, during a suppression hearing the defendant moved to have the physical evidence seized from his trunk suppressed due to an illegal…
Under New York law, if a person is pulled over for suspected driving while under the influence of alcohol, the driver must submit to a chemical test (breath, blood, urine, or saliva), as a matter of “implied consent.” This does not mean that drivers absolutely have to submit to a…
Defendant Walker was indicted for several felonies including murder in the second degree (felony murder) (N.Y. Pen. Law § 125.25[3] ), two counts of kidnapping in the second degree (N.Y. Pen. Law § 135.20), robbery in the first degree (N.Y. Pen. Law § 160.15[2] ), criminal possession of a weapon…
In a possession of a controlled substance case, the court considered whether the police officers properly stopped and arrested the defendant for disorderly conduct. When the officers stopped the defendant, they found cocaine on his person, leading to a charge of possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree.…
In this case the defendant denies charges of child endangerment despite being found drunk and unconscious with two young children she was supposed to be caring for. Early one morning a police sergeant found defendant Perez in the back seat of a cab with two infant children next to her. …