(Download) "People v. Joel Goggans" by Supreme Court of New York * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: People v. Joel Goggans
- Author : Supreme Court of New York
- Release Date : January 27, 1989
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 65 KB
Description
DECISION & ORDER At the hearing held in connection with that branch of the defendant's omnibus motion which was to suppress
evidence, a police officer testified that on November 10, 1987, he observed the defendant standing next to the passenger side
of an automobile which was stopped in the middle of a road. The officer testified that as he approached to within eight feet
of the defendant, he observed the defendant reach into a brown paper bag and remove a clear plastic vial which contained a
white powder which appeared to be the substance known as "crack", a form of cocaine. After displaying the vial of crack to
the occupant of the vehicle, and after observing the approach of the officer, the defendant placed the vial back into the
paper bag, and began to walk away, concealing the bag underneath his coat. The officer then identified himself, ordered the
defendant to stop, and reached into the defendant's overcoat. This search yielded 11 plastic vials which contained what appeared
to be crack, and the defendant was thereupon placed under arrest. The arresting officer possessed expert knowledge of the customs of drug dealers and the usual appearance and packaging of
their product. Based on his previous experience, this officer unquestionably had probable cause to believe that the white
substance contained in the clear plastic vial offered by the defendant to a passing motorist was in fact crack or some other
narcotic drug. Recognizing the reliability of the judgment exercised by veteran police officers in the context of similar
situations, we have frequently held that probable cause to arrest exists when the officer in question personally observes
the defendant in possession of either a clear vial or a glassine envelope containing a white powder or substance under circumstances
which reveal that the substance in question has been, or is about to be, sold (see, People v Mariner, 147 A.D.2d 659, 660;
People v Burke, 146 A.D.2d 706, 707; People v Mann, 143 A.D.2d 200, 201; People v Robinson, 133 A.D.2d 473; see also, United
States v Rosario, 638 F2d 460). The clear plastic vial is, like the small glassine envelope, the "hallmark of an illicit drug
exchange" (People v McRay, 51 N.Y.2d 594, 603-604; see also, People v Alexander, 37 N.Y.2d 202, 203; People v Corrado, 22
N.Y.2d 308, 313; People v Bittner, 97 A.D.2d 33, 37). In order to have probable cause to arrest, it is not necessary for the
officer to observe an actual exchange of the vial or glassine envelope for cash (People v Eldridge, 103 A.D.2d 470; People
v Greenridge, 131 A.D.2d 303, 304). Nor do we believe that it is always necessary to prove that the defendant was present
in a so-called "drug prone" location.
 "People v. Joel Goggans" by Supreme Court of New York * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free){kind=link}