People v. Manieri
| Decision Date | 06 October 1975 |
| Citation | 83 Misc.2d 798,373 N.Y.S.2d 504 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of New York v. Benjamin MANIERI, Defendant. |
| Court | New York County Court |
Robert L. Maider, Dist. Atty., Fulton County, Johnstown, for the people.
Edward S. Lomanto, Gloversville, for defendant.
Motion by defendant for an order suppressing evidence seized on the grounds that it was obtained as the result of an illegal search and seizure and in violation of the Constitutional rights of the defendant.
On January 31, 1975, defendant was a patient in the Nathan Littauer Hospital, Gloversville, New York, occupying a private hospital room. On that date, and in that room, the defendant was arrested by a State Police officer, acting in an undercover capacity, and charged with gambling violations. He was subsequently indicted by the grand jury of this county in a three count indictment charging him with possession of gambling records in the first degree; possession of gambling records in the second degree; and promoting gambling in the second degree.
It is undisputed that the administrators and other authorized personnel of the hospital obtained information that the defendant was carrying on illegal book making and gambling activities in his room, and that this information was also obtained by the State Police. On or about January 30, 1975, a State Police officer, acting undercover, was assigned to the hospital with the knowledge and consent of the hospital authorities and was given hospital duty as a porter, requiring him to go in and out of the hospital rooms for the purpose of cleaning them. The role of the officer was investigative. The undercover police officer, concealing his true identity, went about his duties as a porter which included his entering defendant's room from time to time in the performance of same. While so engaged, and while in the room, and in the presence of the defendant, the officer overheard the defendant taking bets over the phone, which defendant had had installed, and observed the defendant making notes on slips of paper which he placed on a table at the side of his bed. The undercover officer thereupon revealed his true identity, placed the defendant under arrest and seized the gambling records.
The defendant contends that the entry of the police officer under the circumstances was an illegal invasion of the private room of the defendant and an unconstitutional invasion of his privacy.
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States as well as Article I, Section 12 of the New York State Constitution protects against government intrusion upon the sanctity of a man's home and the privacies of life. In fact, wherever a man may be, he is entitled to know that he will remain free from unreasonable searches and seizures. (Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 88 S.Ct. 507, 19 L.Ed.2d 576) This has been held to mean and apply to, in addition to a man's home, his office, his hotel or motel room, even a telephone booth, and I hold it applies likewise to a man's private room in a hospital. However, not every entry without a warrant, search or arrest, is prohibited by law, and it requires an examination of the facts and circumstances in each and every case and situation to determine whether the entry was legal or was in fact a trespass. An occupant can break the seal of sanctity and waive his right to privacy in the premises. This is accomplished when the occupant invites another to enter the premises or consents to the entry. A private room in a hospital is comparable to a room in a hotel or motel where permission is granted, express or implied, to the entry of maids, janitors or repairmen in the performance of their duties. By submitting oneself to the care of a hospital, one subjects himself to the rules, regulations, customs, practices, and procedures of that hospital, all of which are customarily promulgated and exist and are carried out for the protection, care, health and recovery of the patient. Certainly the entry from time to time into one's hospital room, of nurses, doctors, orderlies, janitors or porters, technicians, dieticians and the like, is not only...
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