The Police Officer's RIGHT to STOP your car in NY
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| (image courtesy flickr.com) |
BIG QUESTION: When does a NY cop have the right to pull your over???
Well, they have rights to pull you over for all sorts of reasons. Here are some of the biggest ones...
1. The Court of Appeals (the highest Court in NY) has decided that the stop of a vehicle is lawful when an officer has probable cause to believe that an individual has violated the Vehicle and Traffic Law. People v. Robinson (decided in 2001).
What's definition of "Probable Cause" : "reasonable cause to believe that a person has committed an offense exists when evidence or information which appears reliable discloses facts or circumstances which are collectively of such weight and persuasiveness as to convince a person of ordinary intelligence, judgment, and experience that it is reasonably likely that such offense was committed and that such person committed it." CPL s. 70.10(2). See also People v. Russell (2005), CPL s. 140.10
That's a MOUTHFUL. So, what's that mean?
Basically, if an officer SEES you commit any traffic infraction (from not using a turn signal, to going out of your lane, to speeding) then they have the necessary PROBABLE CAUSE to stop your car.
[If they pull you over for an Equipment Violation (like a tail light out or a noisy muffler) it can be a little more difficult to prove probable cause because the violation may be harder to discover.]
This still counts even if they're really after you for something else...like drunk driving.
2. An officer may stop a car if a PASSENGER in the car was just seen driving a different car and committed a traffic violation. People v. Sluszka (2005) [seeing you change cars is considered like a continuation of your initial driving.
3. They can stop you if they have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity (i.e. a misdemeanor or a felony). Reasonable suspicion is: "the quantum of knowledge sufficient to induce an ordinarily prudent and cautious man under the circumstances to believe that criminal activity is at hand." People v. Cantor (1975)
--SUMMARY THOUGHTS--
It's pretty easy for a police officer to lawfully stop you while driving a car. They just have to follow you for a little bit and chances are, you'll do some little thing that violates the traffic law.
BY: Attorney Mike Cyr
P: 607-229-5184
E: mike.ithacadwi@gmail.com
Twitter: @ithacadwi
