People v. Dicke

• Decision Date: 22 September 2022
• Docket Number: 21100072
• Citation: 2022 NY Slip Op 22306
• Parties: The People of the State of New York v. William H. Dicke, Defendant.
• Court: New York Justice Court

2022 NY Slip Op 22306

The People of the State of New York
v.
William H. Dicke, Defendant.

No. 21100072

Justice Court of the Town of Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County

September 22, 2022

Jennifer L. Fluck, Esq. Senior Assistant District Attorney 236 Main St. Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

Ryanne G. Konan, Esq. Attorney for Defendant 4 Marshall Rd., Suite 248 Wappingers Falls, NY 12590

Hon. Darren H. Fairlie, Town Justice

Procedural History

By Notice of Motion dated April 25, 2022, Defendant moved to dismiss the accusatory instruments against him, which charged violations of VTL § 401-1a (Unregistered Motor Vehicle), VTL § 511-3(a)(i) (Aggravated Unlicensed Operation - 1st Degree), VTL § 1192(3) (Driving While Intoxicated) and PL § 220.06 (Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance - 5th Degree), for lack of probable cause to effectuate the subject traffic stop in the first instance. In the alternative, Defendant requested a Mapp/Dunaway hearing to suppress the statements and physical evidence obtained from the Defendant following the allegedly unlawful traffic stop in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The People submitted an Affirmation in Answer to Defendant's Motion dated June 16, 2022.

At the July 21, 2022 appearance in this matter, this Court denied Defendant's motion to dismiss due to Defendant's failure to establish lack of probable cause based upon the papers presented or upon a deficiency in the accusatory instruments themselves. Upon review of the parties' submissions, this Court found an arguable issue of fact concerning the precise cause for the traffic stop. Accordingly, this Court granted Defendant's request for a Mapp/Dunaway hearing, which was held on August 4, 2022.

The Hearing Testimony

The hearing consisted of the direct and cross examination of New York State Police Investigator Luke Newton, who made the subject traffic stop on October 4, 2021. After listening to and observing the demeanor of Investigator Newton, the Court finds his testimony to be credible and makes the following findings of fact.

It was undisputed that the Defendant never committed a moving violation to cause the stop; instead, it was information that Investigator Newton obtained from running the Defendant's license plate that led to the traffic stop. Investigator Newton was patrolling the Taconic State Parkway when he observed a vehicle with Wisconsin "dealer" license plates. He checked the vehicle's registration status by running the license plate number through the computer system in his police vehicle, which was linked to a Department of Motor Vehicles database. The vehicle registration search yielded the result of "Not on File." Based upon his training and experience, Investigator Newton understood the result of "Not on File" to mean that the vehicle was unregistered or potentially never registered at all. On that basis, Investigator Newton then proceeded to effectuate the traffic stop.

Analysis

A traffic stop or automobile stop is a seizure implicating constitutional limitations under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. People v. Hinshaw, 35 N.Y.3d 427, 430 (2020).

Where a defendant challenges the legality of a seizure in a Mapp/Dunaway hearing, in order to suppress the statements or other evidence obtained as a result of the seizure, the People have the burden of going forward, in the first instance, to establish...