People v. Burton

• Decision Date: 02 May 2006
• Citation: 848 N.E.2d 454,6 N.Y.3d 584
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Thomas BURTON, Appellant.
• Court: New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

848 N.E.2d 454

6 N.Y.3d 584

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Thomas BURTON, Appellant.

Court of Appeals of New York.

May 2, 2006.

Legal Aid Society, Criminal Appeals Bureau, New York City (Laura Boyd and Laura R. Johnson of counsel), for appellant.

Robert M. Morgenthau, District Attorney, New York City (Karen Schlossberg and Sandra E. Cavazos of counsel), for respondent.

OPINION OF THE COURT

GRAFFEO, J.

In this case, the People contend that defendant's motion to suppress physical evidence seized during a search of his person was properly denied without a hearing because he failed to proffer sufficient factual allegations demonstrating that he had standing to challenge the search. The People argue that defendant's motion was insufficient because he did not admit to possessing the drugs at the time of the search, instead relying on a police officer's assertion that narcotics were found in defendant's pocket. We hold that the statements in defendant's motion papers that he was stopped and searched by the police without legal justification, and that the police claimed to have discovered drugs on defendant during the search, were sufficient to satisfy the factual allegation requirement of CPL 710.60(1) and thereby establish standing to seek suppression.

On the evening of January 16, 2001, a police officer approached defendant Thomas Burton on a Manhattan street. The officer proceeded to search him and, according to the felony complaint, discovered a plastic bag containing crack cocaine in a front pocket of the sweatpants defendant was wearing underneath his jeans. A grand jury subsequently returned an indictment charging him with one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree.

In a motion seeking suppression of the drugs, defendant's attorney averred that defendant was walking alone on the street when he was stopped and searched "for no apparent lawful reason." Defense counsel noted that the police officer who searched defendant stated that "he recovered one bag containing crack/cocaine from the defendant's person." Counsel further alleged that "[n]o contraband was in plain view," defendant had not consented to the search, no warrant permitting the search had been issued, and the police officer did not have probable cause to instigate the search. The People opposed the application, arguing that defendant lacked standing to ask for suppression because he did not expressly acknowledge that he had, in fact, personally possessed the cocaine that was recovered from his person, and his reliance on the police officer's allegation in the felony complaint was inadequate to confer standing.

Supreme Court agreed with the People and denied the motion without a hearing. The court determined that defendant lacked standing to pursue suppression of the contraband in the absence of his personal affirmation that the drugs were recovered from his person. Defendant later pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree and agreed to be sentenced as a second felony offender to a minimum indeterminate prison term of 3 to 6 years, with the understanding that if he complied with certain terms of the negotiated plea, he would be permitted to withdraw his plea in order to plead guilty to a lesser possession offense. Defendant, however, failed to abide by those requirements and was eventually sentenced to 3½ to 7 years of imprisonment.

Defendant appealed pursuant to CPL 710.70(2), challenging the denial of his suppression application, and the Appellate Division affirmed, concluding that the motion was properly denied without a hearing because defendant failed to adequately allege standing to seek suppression. A Judge of this Court granted leave to appeal and we now reverse.

Article 710 of the Criminal Procedure Law delineates the substantive and procedural rules that govern a motion to suppress evidence. As relevant to this case, a pretrial suppression motion "must state the ground or grounds of the motion and must contain sworn allegations of fact, whether of the defendant or of another person or persons, supporting such grounds" (CPL 710.60[1]). A trial court is required to grant a hearing if the defendant "raise[s] a factual dispute on a material point which must be resolved before the court can decide the legal issue" of whether evidence was obtained in a constitutionally permissible manner (People v. Gruden, 42 N.Y.2d 214, 215, 397 N.Y.S.2d 704, 366 N.E.2d 794 [1977]). Because hearings on suppression motions "are not automatic or generally available for the asking by boilerplate allegations" (People v. Mendoza, 82 N.Y.2d 415, 422, 604 N.Y.S.2d 922, 624 N.E.2d 1017 [1993]), such a request may be summarily denied if the motion papers do not provide a sufficient legal basis for suppression (see CPL 710.60[3][a]) or where "[t]he sworn allegations of fact do not as a matter of law support the ground alleged" (CPL 710.60[3][b]).¹

There is no legal basis for suppression and, hence, no need for a hearing, unless the accused alleges facts that, if true, demonstrate standing to challenge the search or seizure (see People v. Rodriguez, 69 N.Y.2d 159, 161, 513 N.Y.S.2d 75, 505 N.E.2d 586 [1987]). Standing exists where a defendant was aggrieved by a search of a place or object in which he or she had a legitimate expectation of privacy (see People v. Ramirez-Portoreal, 88 N.Y.2d 99, 108, 643 N.Y.S.2d 502, 666 N.E.2d 207 [1996]). This burden is satisfied if the accused subjectively manifested an expectation of privacy with respect to the location or item searched that society recognizes to be objectively reasonable under the circumstances (see id.).

Defendant's motion papers, which averred that he was searched by a police officer without probable cause or other legal justification, adequately pleaded a legal basis for suppression as required by CPL 710.60(1). Under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, individuals possess a legitimate expectation of privacy with regard to their persons (see U.S. Const. Amend. IV ["(t)he right of the people to be secure in their persons . . . against unreasonable searches and seizures( ) shall not be violated"]; People v. Gonzalez, 115 A.D.2d 73, 77, 499 N.Y.S.2d 400 [1st Dept.1986], affd. 68 N.Y.2d 950, 510 N.Y.S.2d 86, 502 N.E.2d 1001 [1986]). Here, defendant undeniably had "a reasonable expectation of freedom from governmental intrusion" (Mancusi v. DeForte, 392 U.S. 364, 368, 88 S.Ct. 2120, 20 L.Ed.2d 1154 [1968]) in the place searched by the police — the pocket of his pants. He also subjectively manifested such an expectation since anything concealed in the pocket was in his sole possession and hidden from public view. Indeed, the People do not dispute that defendant had a protected privacy interest in the article of clothing that was searched. Instead, they argue that, because defendant did not specifically admit or acknowledge that he possessed the drugs, there were insufficient "sworn allegations of fact" to assert standing to challenge the legality of the police conduct and summary denial of his motion was therefore permitted under CPL 710.60(3)(b).

This contention is inconsistent with the language of CPL 710.60 and our precedent. Subdivision (1) of the statute specifies that the allegations of fact in support of a motion to suppress may come from "the defendant or . . . another person or persons" (CPL 710.60[1] [emphasis added]). Consistent with this text, we have repeatedly observed that, in assessing the adequacy of a motion to suppress tangible evidence, a defendant is entitled to rely on the People's proof to demonstrate standing (see e.g. People v. Ramirez-Portoreal, 88 N.Y.2d at 109, 643 N.Y.S.2d 502, 666 N.E.2d 207; People v. Whitfield, 81 N.Y.2d 904, 906, 597 N.Y.S.2d 641, 613 N.E.2d 547 [1993]; People v. Wesley, 73 N.Y.2d 351, 358 n. 1, 540 N.Y.S.2d 757, 538 N.E.2d 76 [1989]; People v. Gonzalez, 68 N.Y.2d at 951, 510 N.Y.S.2d 86, 502 N.E.2d 1001; People v. Gomez, 67 N.Y.2d 843, 844, 501 N.Y.S.2d 650, 492 N.E.2d 778 [1986]). The necessary allegations of fact may be gleaned in part from statements made by law enforcement officials in an accusatory instrument (see People v. Gomez, 67 N.Y.2d at 844, 501 N.Y.S.2d 650, 492 N.E.2d 778) or from testimonial statements elicited by the prosecution (see People v. Gonzalez, 68 N.Y.2d at 951, 510 N.Y.S.2d 86, 502 N.E.2d 1001). Our decisions further point out that witnesses for the People — including police officers — are among the "[ ]other person[s]" (CPL 710.60[1]) whose factual assertions may be used in a motion to suppress (see People v. Ramirez-Portoreal, 88 N.Y.2d at 105-106, 111-112, 643 N.Y.S.2d 502, 666 N.E.2d 207; People v. Gonzalez, 68 N.Y.2d at 951, 510 N.Y.S.2d 86, 502 N.E.2d 1001). Based on this case law, defendant could meet his evidentiary burden by supplementing the averments made in his motion to dismiss with the police officer's statement that the drugs were recovered from defendant's person. Defendant was therefore not required to personally admit possession of the contraband in order to comply with the factual pleading requirement of CPL 710.60.²

Although defendant was allowed to utilize the People's evidence to satisfy this standing threshold, that proof alone was not enough to require a hearing because the accusation that contraband was recovered from defendant did not create an issue of fact as to whether the search and seizure were the result of a Fourth Amendment violation. Whether the remaining assertions in the motion papers gave rise to a factual question on the standing issue is answered by People v. Mendoza, 82 N.Y.2d 415, 604 N.Y.S.2d 922, ...