People v. Joeger
| Decision Date | 06 June 1985 |
| Citation | 490 N.Y.S.2d 41,111 A.D.2d 944 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Jeffrey JOEGER, Appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Thomas R. Hession, Mineola, for appellant.
Michael Kavanagh, Ulster County Dist. Atty., Kingston (John W. Prizzia, of counsel), for respondent.
Before MAIN, J.P., and CASEY, YESAWICH, LEVINE and HARVEY, JJ.
Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Ulster County rendered November 9, 1983, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of criminal possession of marihuana in the first degree.
In August 1982, a State Police investigator entered onto defendant's 103-acre farm without a warrant and there located two fields where defendant was growing marihuana. Defendant was subsequently indicted on a charge of criminal possession of marihuana in the first degree. Following a suppression hearing, County Court denied defendant's motion to suppress the marihuana found in the fields. Defendant then pleaded guilty as charged.
On this appeal, defendant contends that the marihuana should have been suppressed as it was the fruit of a warrantless search of an area in which defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy. He argues that the fact that the fields in question were posted with no trespassing signs and were partially fenced evidences his expectation of privacy in those areas and renders the warrantless search thereof violative of the US Constitution, 4th Amendment. This contention is meritless.
The same argument was rejected in Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S. 170, 104 S.Ct. 1735, 80 L.Ed.2d 214, wherein the Supreme Court stated that "no expectation of privacy legitimately attaches to open fields" (id., 104 S.Ct. at 1742), noting that the presence of fences and no trespassing signs does not alter this rule since they do not "effectively bar the public from viewing open fields in rural areas" (id. at ----, 104 S.Ct. at 1741). The Oliver ruling was recently followed by this court in a case factually similar to the instant matter (People v. Gustafson, 101 A.D.2d 920, 921, 475 N.Y.S.2d 913; see also People v. Abbott, 105 A.D.2d 1029, 1030, 483 N.Y.S.2d 452). We see no reason to alter that holding here.
Defendant also argues that his sentence of six months' imprisonment and 4 1/2 years' probation was unduly harsh and excessive. However, the record discloses that this sentence was the result of a plea bargain during which defendant...
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People v. Scott
...doctrine upheld in Oliver is followed in New York" (id., at 1025, 565 N.Y.S.2d 576), citing its prior decision in People v. Joeger, 111 A.D.2d 944, 490 N.Y.S.2d 41, and our decision in People v. Reynolds, 71 N.Y.2d 552, 556, 528 N.Y.S.2d 15, 523 N.E.2d 291. The Appellate Division reasoned t......
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People v. Hill
...represented by competent counsel and less than the maximum authorized by statute, was not harsh or excessive (see, People v. Joeger, 111 A.D.2d 944, 945, 490 N.Y.S.2d 41). Last, we find no error in County Court's denial of defendant's CPL article 440 motion without a hearing since sufficien......
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People v. Scott
...488 U.S. 445, 109 S.Ct. 693, 102 L.Ed.2d 835.) The open fields doctrine upheld in Oliver is followed in New York (see, People v. Joeger, 111 A.D.2d 944, 490 N.Y.S.2d 41; see also, People v. Reynolds, 71 N.Y.2d 552, 556, 528 N.Y.S.2d 15, 523 N.E.2d 291). The marihuana in question here was cl......
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People v. Sinclair
...People v. Felman, 141 A.D.2d 889, 890, 529 N.Y.S.2d 400, lv. denied 72 N.Y.2d 918, 532 N.Y.S.2d 852, 529 N.E.2d 182; People v. Joeger, 111 A.D.2d 944, 945, 490 N.Y.S.2d 41). Judgment MAHONEY, P.J., and WEISS, LEVINE and HARVEY, JJ., concur. ...