People v. Schaub
| Decision Date | 21 October 1980 |
| Citation | 432 N.Y.S.2d 803,105 Misc.2d 704 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of New York v. Jeffrey L. SCHAUB, Defendant. |
| Court | New York Villiage Court |
Can a driver of a vehicle be convicted under section 1219(a) of the Vehicle and Traffic Law where admittedly the driver did not place the debris upon the highway?
Officer Kerensky testified that at 1:10 AM on September 1st, 1979 he was sitting in a patrol car facing towards Merrick Road, parked in parking field number 16. Immediately adjacent to field 16, is the Chemical Bank building and parking lot. He observed a red and white Buick pull from the bank exit onto Merrick Road and stop. As the Buick stopped, the door on the passenger side opened. One youth was crossing Merrick Road to get into the vehicle. While the patrolman was watching, he saw a bottle thrown from the Buick onto Merrick Road. The bottle broke and the glass shattered. Kerensky then went over to the vehicle and issued a summons to the driver, Schaub, for a violation of section 1219(a)-"depositing glass and litter on the highway". The defendant Schaub told Patrolman Kerensky that he did not throw anything out of the car. Another unidentified youth in the vehicle said he did not throw the bottle out of the car, but that he (the other youth) kicked the bottle in the street where the bottle had been. The officer advised the defendant Schaub that it was his responsibility as the operator of the motor vehicle to make sure that no one was drinking alcoholic beverages or throwing debris on the highway.
Patrolman Kerensky was unable to identify the person who threw the bottle from the vehicle. There were three people in the car including the driver Schaub. On cross examination Kerensky testified that Schaub was not the person who threw the bottle out of the car. However, the patrolman repeated that he saw the bottle come from the car and smash apart in the street.
There are no decisions listed under section 1219 of any value to this Court in making this determination. The language of the statute draws a clear distinction between sections 1219(a) and 1219(b).
1219(a) reads "No person shall throw or deposit upon any highway ...". Whereas 1219(b) reads "Any person who drops, or permits to be dropped or thrown, upon any highway, ...".
Under section 1219(a) it would appear that the person to be charged is the person who actually throws or deposits the substance. Under 1219(b) not only the person who throws, deposits or drops the substance upon the highway can be charged, but any person who permits it to be dropped or thrown upon the highway can be charged. (underlining supplied)
Under 1219(a) there is no provision for issuing a summons unless the party to be charged can be identified as the party who threw the object on the highway. (No charge was made here under section 1219(b)). Now-a second problem. What does the word "permit" mean under section 1219(b). If a passenger in an automobile being driven by a driver-defendant opens the passenger side of the car and ejects a bottle or some other debris upon the highway, can the...
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People v. Bunton
...698), timbers obstructing the road (People v. Troia, 207 Misc. 463, 141 N.Y.S.2d 90), as well as broken glass bottles (People v. Schaub, 105 Misc.2d 704, 432 N.Y.S.2d 803). The overall weight of authority, then, suggests that the Statute is meant to encompass any substance which may cause i......