People v. Joyette

Summary

The Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed suppression of physical evidence seized from an Audi occupied by the defendants. The majority held that police blocked the vehicle without reasonable suspicion before detecting the odor of marijuana, and that the subsequent search was fruit of an unlawful stop; a dissent would have upheld the search based on the odor of marijuana and independent probable cause.

Holdings

1. The police vehicle's positioning directly in front of and blocking the Audi constituted a stop because it significantly interrupted the occupants' liberty of movement; the stop therefore required reasonable suspicion that the occupants were involved in criminal activity or posed a danger to the police.
2. The later detection of marijuana and observation of a marijuana cigarette could not validate the preceding unlawful stop because the police had not observed criminal activity before blocking the Audi.
3. The People failed to establish a reliable basis for arresting Stewart because they presented no evidence concerning the source or reliability of the information in the purported extradition warrant or intelligence flyer.
4. CPL 470.15(1) did not bar review because the record and the parties' arguments showed that the hearing court considered and rejected the People's contention that the police conduct was independently justified.

Questions Presented

1. Whether parking a police vehicle directly in front of and blocking the Audi constituted a forcible stop requiring reasonable suspicion.
2. Whether the odor of marijuana detected only after the police had blocked the Audi and approached it justified the subsequent search and seizure.
3. Whether the People established a reliable basis for arresting Stewart on the purported extradition warrant.
4. Whether the Appellate Division could consider the justification for the police stop under CPL 470.15(1).

Disposition

affirmed