People v. Montanaro

34 Misc. 2d 624, 229 N.Y.S.2d 677, 1962 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3205
CourtNew York County Courts
DecidedJune 4, 1962
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 34 Misc. 2d 624 (People v. Montanaro) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York County Courts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Montanaro, 34 Misc. 2d 624, 229 N.Y.S.2d 677, 1962 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3205 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1962).

Opinion

Nathan B. Sobel, J.

This is a motion pursuant to sections 813-c, 813-d and 813-e of the Code of Criminal Procedure (L. 1962, ch. 954, eff. April 29,1962) to suppress certain contraband allegedly the product of an unlawful search and seizure.

The contraband (policy slips, etc.) was seized pursuant to a search warrant. The defendants moved before a Magistrate to controvert the grounds upon which the warrant was issued. (Code Crim. Pro., § 807.) The Magistrate took testimony. (Code Crim. Pro., § 808.) Upon all issues raised, the Magistrate sustained the warrant.

An indictment has since been found. The motion to suppress may be made in this court irrespective of the determination by the Magistrate in a proceeding under section 807. In this court the same or different contentions may be raised. And this court may find the search warrant invalid but nevertheless find the search reasonable as an incident to a lawful arrest. (Jones v. United States, 357 U. S. 493; Keiningham v. United States, 287 F. 2d 126.)

A preliminary discussion may help place the issues in proper perspective.

It is not generally understood that a search warrant contains no authority to arrest. A search warrant is primarily directed against property — i.e., fruits or instrumentalities of crime or contraband. It is not directed against the alleged criminal. In fact, to justify the issuance of a search warrant the name of the criminal need not be known or included in the warrant. The practice of including named persons in the search warrant is merely for the purpose of identification of the person or premises to be searched (Code Crim. Pro., § 797). It is not authority to arrest such persons.

From what has been said, it is obvious that the probable cause necessary for the issuance of a search warrant is different from the probable cause required for a warrant of arrest. In the former there must be probable cause to establish that specified property will be found on specified premises. In the latter there must be probable cause that a specified person has committed a specified crime.

What has been observed in these months since Mapp v. Ohio (367 U. S. 643) is that the police apply for a search warrant when they should apply for a warrant of arrest. As noted in my ‘ ‘ Comment ” (N. Y. L. J., Jan 2, 1962, p. 4, col. 3) “ It is true that warrants of arrest and search warrants are provided for in different statutes and have always been treated as depending upon separate conditions. Presumably an officer will apply for a warrant of arrest when he wishes merely to arrest. He mav [627]*627apply for a search warrant when he wishes to recover stolen goods or search for contraband but has little or no knowledge of the identity of the thief or possessor. • But often he will have probable cause to obtain both.”

The advantage of a search warrant ór a warrant of arrest is that both authorize entry into fixed premises — the former to search; the latter to arrest under circumstances where no statutory right to make a warrantless arrest exists. Under both a search may be conducted — under the former pursuant to the authority of the search warrant; under the latter as an incidental search to the lawful authorized arrest.

Returning to the instant motion, it has been stipulated that the motion to suppress will be submitted and that the testimony on the hearing to controvert the search warrant, had before the Magistrate, shall be deemed to be the testimony on the hearing of this motion to suppress.

I.

I have read the testimony. In this case the affidavit and deposition supporting the search warrant furnished sufficient probable cause to warrant the issuance of the search warrant. (Code Crim. Pro., §§ 792-796.) Since the identity of the persons frequenting the suspected premises were also known to the police and were specified in the affidavits and depositions, the police also had probable cause to obtain an arrest warrant and the Magistrate would have been justified in issuing same.

But the police obtained only a search warrant which gave them no authority to make an arrest. But it did give them authority to enter fixed premises by the use of force if necessary (Code Crim. Pro., § 799). Once lawfully on the fixed premises, the police in this case observed three of the defendants actually engaged in working on policy slips and sheets. This observation of a crime being committed in their presence while lawfully on the premises, furnished to the police authority to arrest.

It is contended in this connection that the property seized was not the property specifically described in the search warrant. It need not be. The search may be sustained as one incidental to the lawful arrest rather than as specifically authorized in the search warrant.

As a matter of fact, however, the seizure of the particular contraband was lawful both as an incidental search as well as the search under the search warrant. The particular contraband was in fact specifically described in the search warrant.

In the latter connection, it should be observed that when dealing with stolen property a description in a search warrant [628]*628must be specific, as the Constitution commands. (N. Y. Const., art. I, § 12; U. S. Const., 4th Amdt.) But when dealing with contraband such as gambling paraphernalia or narcotic drugs reasonable leeway is permitted to search for ‘6 closely related” or even misdescribed ” property. (See cases discussed in Woo Lai Chun v. United States, 274 F. 2d 708, 712, n. 11.) A general description of policy slips or gambling paraphernalia in a search warrant would authorize seizure of collectors’ tapes or bankers’ records. A description of narcotic drugs would authorize seizure of any kind of narcotic drugs.

In connection with the search warrant, an issue is also made that the search warrant described the entire building rather than a particular apartment in the building.

When dealing with apartment. houses, such misdescription may make the search warrant invalid. The constitutional safeguard is for the protection of the law-abiding citizen. The police may not enter all apartments on the premises in order to locate the specified property. But this was not an apartment house. It was a two-family brownstone. The known policy players were seen entering through the basement. At least one of the defendants occupied that floor. The illegal activities were conducted on the upper floor. The Magistrate was justified in including the entire premises in the search warrant. (Minovitz v. United States, 298 F. 2d 682.) There is no doubt that much broader scope in terms of area to be searched is permitted under a search warrant than under an incidental search. (Cf. Davis v. United States, 328 U. S. 582, 595.)

A common-sense view of the problem of description of specified premises in search warrants should require a distinction between crimes committed upon premises, and crimes committed elsewhere but property sought is located upon fixed premises. When the crime is being committed within the fixed premises a broader area may be specified.

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Bluebook (online)
34 Misc. 2d 624, 229 N.Y.S.2d 677, 1962 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3205, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-montanaro-nycountyct-1962.