It is a clever predicate in that, unlike the allegation of mechanical issues such as a broken tail light, it is nearly impossible to disprove. Moreover, in light  of the current state of the law, once the police have a “valid” reason to pull a defendant over it doesn’t matter if that is the real reason they pulled him over.  That is,  the “pretextual stop” argument has been largely undermined in the wake of Whren v. United States, 517 US 806 (1996), holding in effect that the police officer’s true motive for the car stop is irrelevant so long as he had a valid reason for the stop. This reason may not need to be supported by probable cause in New York, where cases suggest “reasonable suspicion” is sufficient.  People v. Robinson, 97 NY2d 341 (2001).

So, if your client has been pulled over for “failure to signal” what are your tools to fight the constitutionality of the stop? First of all, chances are that he was never issued a ticket, which bears on the credibility of the police officers.  More importantly, and the part that the officers and the DA may fail to focus upon, is that the police must provide testimony which supports the actual statutory infraction.  VTL Section 1163 (turning movements and required signals) states in relevant part that no driver shall:  “turn a vehicle from a direct course or move left or right upon a roadway unless and until such movement can be made with reasonable safety.  No person shall turn any vehicle without giving the proper signal”.  In a recent case, People v. Rice, 810 NYS2d 306 (2006), the Court determined, based upon the above and upon a review of the legislative history, that while a turn may always require a signal, a lane change does not if it can be made safely.  “There was no desire [of the legislature] to add . . . a per se requirement of signaling lane changes as well”.  As such, the law does not “require signaling when a lane change can be made in complete safety without such a signal”.

What is the practical affect of this ruling? In most hearings the police officer will simply state that the defendant was observed making a lane change without signaling. The DA will ordinarily fail to elicit the nature of the roadway, the traffic conditions at the time and how, if at all, the purported lane change endangered other drivers.  IF this latter evidence is not proffered on direct testimony, it is the wise practitioner that does not address it on cross examination lest the officer “fill in the gaps”.  With no evidence that a unspecified “lane change” was made unsafely, any subsequent car stop violates the Fourth Amendment and the New York Constitution and any contraband recovered thereafter should be suppressed as fruit of the poisonous tree.

Pro Boxer Edgar Santana Busted As Part Of Alleged Major Cocaine Ring

By Teri Thompson, Michael O’Keeffe And Nathaniel Vinton
Daily News Sports Writers

Updated Friday, July 18th 2008, 4:58 PM
(Originally published on July 18 at 10:12 a.m.)

Edgar Santana, the junior welterweight boxer often billed as “The Pride of Spanish Harlem,” was arrested Friday as part of an alleged international cocaine distribution ring busted by the New York Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor and the New York Office of the DEA.

Santana, 29, was picked up at his home at the George Washington Carver Houses on 102nd St. in Spanish Harlem in the early morning hours Friday. Friends and acquaintances were stunned.

“Everybody has been blindsided by this whole thing because it’s just not something that you would think Edgar could be involved in,” said Ernesto Dallas, Santana’s manager for the last six years.

Santana and seven other alleged co-conspirators were led out of a DEA office building in lower Manhattan Friday just after noon and taken to New York State Supreme Court. They are expected to be arraigned on Monday on second-degree criminal conspiracy and first-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.

His arms handcuffed behind him, a grim Santana, who is scheduled to fight in an ESPN-televised match on Aug. 6, said nothing as DEA agents led him to a waiting car. On his black T-shirt was the following slogan in yellow letters: “The pressure of survival in the big city will make you lose sight of your dream…hang in there – de la Vega.”

James de la Vega, the Spanish Harlem artist who designed the T-shirt, was shocked by the news. “He’s a huge symbol of pride in Spanish Harlem,” de la Vega told the Daily News. “I’ve walked down the streets with him in the neighborhood and people love him everywhere. … He’s a friend of mine. We have a lot of love and respect for him here.”

The investigation, known as “Operation Special Delivery,” was the result of a cooperative effort by the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, in conjunction with the DEA and the the New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force, which is composed of agents from the NYPD, the IRS, the Homeland Security and the FBI, among other agencies.

Agents arrested 12 individuals and recovered $450,000 and at least a kilogram of cocaine in the one-year investigation into a plot to mail cocaine from Santana’s native Puerto Rico to addresses in Manhattan and the Bronx, according to the DEA.

Santana, according to investigators, brokered a deal on behalf of ringleader Angel Colon, and is accused of selling a kilogram of cocaine. Because the case originated with the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s office, it will be prosecuted in New York state court.

“This organization abused the U.S. Postal Service and used packages to smuggle illicit goods into our country,” said New York DEA special agent in charge, John P. Gilbride. “This shows the lengths drug distribution organizations will go to achieve their goal, but they will not be successful, and will face the consequences of their actions as today’s arrests demonstrate.”

A headline attraction in promoter Lou DiBella’s Broadway Boxing Series, Santana was out of boxing briefly, working as a barber in Spanish Harlem, before making a comeback.

Santana, whose record is 24-3 with 15 knockouts, last fought in April, when he won a 10-round decision over Josesito Lopez in Miami on April 11.

Contacted by the Daily News Friday, DiBella was shocked that Santana had been arrested.

“This is completely out of character for him. He was close to everybody in our office,” the promoter said. “My staff is sick about this. He was just talking about opening a barbershop. I’m hoping this is a mistake. But obviously if he’s done something against the law, he’s going to have to pay,” DiBella said.

Santana began his career in a gym in Spanish Harlem and then moved to the reknowned Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, where he worked with Hector Rocca, who helped train Hilary Swank in Clint Eastwood’s Academy Award-winning drama “Million Dollar Baby.”

Dallas, Santana’s current trainer, was with Santana the night before the arrest and said there was nothing in the young boxer’s demeanor to suggest trouble on the horizon.

“In our conversations there were only two things on his mind lately and that was continuing to move up in boxing and getting his barbershop started,” Dallas said. “We were looking at the lease for a place for the barbershop and working out the final plans for the place. He was getting that off the ground. I was with him until 8:30 last night and there was nothing in his demeanor that would indicate anything like this was happening.”

In a 2005 interview for the boxing Web site Doghouse Boxing, Santana talked about what a blessing it was to find boxing as a youngster growing up in dangerous circumstances.

“When I started boxing, I went with seven of my friends to Mickey Rosario’s gym in Spanish Harlem,” Santana recalled. “I remember he told us, out of all seven of us, only one or two of us were going to make it. He said the rest would go into a life of drugs or end up getting killed.

“Looking back, I’m the only one left. Everyone else is either in jail or is getting killed.”

Source: New York Daily News

Attorney for the defense: Matthew D. Myers

A small independent film distributor has been indicted for defrauding at least 22 people  of $3.9 million over seven year, the Manhattan District Attorney said yesterday. The film distributor, Alexis Quinlan, 46, President of Offline Releasing told investors he needed money to export televisions to Europe, prosecutors said, but instead used the money to pay off debts incurred by his film company and to patronize luxury establishments. Mr. Quinlan’s lawyer Matthew Myers did not return a call for comment yesterday.

Source: New York Times – Friday May 12, 2006

Attorney for the defense: Matthew D. Myers