People v. Callahan

85 Misc. 2d 1083, 381 N.Y.S.2d 639, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2123
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 4, 1976
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 85 Misc. 2d 1083 (People v. Callahan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Callahan, 85 Misc. 2d 1083, 381 N.Y.S.2d 639, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2123 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1976).

Opinion

Lawrence J. Tonetti, J.

This is a motion to reargue brought by the People following this court’s granting of a motion to controvert a search warrant because of perjured testimony (People v Alfinito, 16 NY2d 181). It is the People’s position that even assuming, arguendo, that perjury existed it was not of such a nature as to require the controversion of the warrant.

This court held extended hearings to determine the original motion to controvert the warrant. The following findings of fact were made:

In December of 1973, the defendant, William Callahan, and [1084]*1084the informant, Geraldine Zartman, had known each other for approximately 10 years. During this period of time, their relationship had been intimate and photographs and movies were taken by the defendant of Miss Zartman in compromising poses. Prior to the issuance of the warrant, Miss Zartman, evidently considering marriage to someone else, asked Callahan to return the pictures in his possession. When he refused she determined to make use of the judicial processes to accomplish her goal, i.e., the return of the above-mentioned photographs. Thus, she went to the police, where she spoke to Detective Missailidis, and lodged a complaint alleging that Callahan had coerced her to take a Florida vacation with him in the summer of 1973. In her conversation with Detective Missailidis she apprised this officer of the nature of her prior relationship with Callahan; of the existence of the photographs and movies and her desire to obtain them and finally that when she had been in Callahan’s residence approximately four or five months earlier she had seen contraband items, to wit: weapons, pills and marijuana.

This officer, seemingly unimpressed by the coercion charge, given the prior relationship of the principals, was nevertheless intrigued by her story of seeing weapons and other contraband. Consequently, the following day, Miss Zartman was taken to an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx for the purpose of determining the feasibility of obtaining a search warrant for the Callahan premises. There she was informed that her observations were too remote in time to justify a warrant but that if she would return and make new observations, a warrant could be obtained.

At this point, the matter was left for approximately one month. In the interim, Miss Zartman had lodged a rape complaint against Callahan. No police action was taken as a result of this complaint.

At the end of January, 1974, Callahan allegedly called Zartman and asked for a date. Miss Zartman was unable to recall whether she had any advance contact with law enforcement authorities in regard to what she need do. In any event, Miss Zartman returned to Callahan’s home where they engaged in further sexual activities and she allegedly made fresh observations of contraband.

The following day, Miss Zartman apprised Detective Missailidis of her alleged observations at Callahan’s home and as a consequence was again taken to the District Attorney’s office [1085]*1085and finally brought before a Judge of this court in an effort to obtain a warrant. Detective Missailidis offered his own affidavit in which he stated that an unnamed complainant would testify before the court in support of the application for the search warrant. No attempt was made to establish Miss Zartman’s credibility on the affidavit itself. He does state he made observations of defendant in his garage and that there were motorcycles in the garage. The observations made by Detective Missailidis in no way corroborated the fact that these motorcycles were stolen.

In addition to this affidavit, Miss Zartman testified personally and under oath before the issuing Judge. It must be noted that an attempt was made to establish her credibility as the District Attorney presenting the case asked her such questions as how long she had lived in the Bronx, whether she went to church, did she have children, did she do volunteer work in the community and whether she had been arrested. The overall effect of these questions was to portray Miss Zartman as a fine, upstanding member of the community with no direct interest in the outcome of the case. At that time, the District Attorney or at least Detective Missailidis, who was personally present at all times, knew first hand of the prior relationship between the two principals, of the two criminal complaints lodged by Miss Zartman against Callahan, of the existence of the photographs and movies and Zartman’s desire for their return and, finally, that her first interview with an Assistant District Attorney had provided her with knowledge of what was required by way of recent observations in order to obtain a search warrant. None of these facts was brought to the attention of the issuing Judge.

Miss Zartman then testified that she had seen contraband in Callahan’s apartment. It is this testimony which the court has found to be perjured after a full scale hearing. The defense produced witnesses who testified that Miss Zartman had confessed to lying in order to secure the warrant and bring about return of her pictures. This testimony was corroborated by a tape made by the People, which clearly demonstrated that one of the defense witnesses informed Detective Missailidis that Miss Zartman had lied, long before she was called to testify at the hearing. Further, although Detective Missailidis testified that when the warrant was executed the contraband was found substantially where Zartman had predicted, the inventory list made contemporaneously with the [1086]*1086execution by another police officer shows considerable discrepancies and in fact conforms much more closely with where the defendant said his property was located, when he testified at the hearing. The warrant was issued by the Judge with the accompanying statement, that having read the affidavit and heard the testimony of the confidential informant he was satisfied that probable cause existed.

The issue presented for the court’s resolution is the following: What is the effect of perjury by an informant who commits this perjury while testifying under oath in support of the issuance of a search warrant?

The issue can be immediately narrowed in scope. In People v Alfinito (16 NY2d 181, supra), the Court of Appeals held that where there is perjury by the affiant in the affidavit supporting the warrant the evidence seized pursuant to such warrant should be suppressed. Conversely, in People v Solimine (18 NY2d 477, see, also, People v Slaughter, 37 NY2d 596), the same court held that where perjury by an informant is incorporated in good faith into the police officer’s affidavit in support of the warrant, the warrant is beyond attack. What we deal with here is a hybrid situation, where the perjury is neither by the affiant, nor incorporated in good faith in the officer’s affidavit. Rather it is by an informant whose sworn testimony before the issuing Judge provides the very basis for probable cause and thus the issuance of the warrant.

The rationale of Alñnito and Solimine taken in conjunction is clear. The Court of Appeals is limiting any inquiry into perjurious testimony to those cases where the perjury directly resulted in the issuance of a warrant. Where the perjury is outside the materials reviewed by the issuing court in determining, the existence of probable cause the warrant is beyond attack. Any other rule would result in a plethora of minitrials testing the accuracy of informants. The People, however, would further limit the scope of review.

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Related

People v. Bradley
181 A.D.2d 316 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1992)
People v. Jacobson
101 Misc. 2d 1069 (New York Supreme Court, 1979)
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88 Misc. 2d 835 (New York Supreme Court, 1976)

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Bluebook (online)
85 Misc. 2d 1083, 381 N.Y.S.2d 639, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2123, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-callahan-nysupct-1976.