The fact that a defendant could have been arrested for littering did not justify a search that turned up a pistol, the Appellate Division, First Department, said Tuesday.

The panel dismissed the charges and freed the defendant in People v. Mangum, 477/12, invoking a new standard governing searches incident to arrest adopted by the Court of Appeals last December in People v. Reid, NY Slip Op 08759 (2014) (NYLJ, Dec. 17, 2014).

The panel consisted of Justices Peter Tom (See Profile), David Friedman (See Profile), Rolando Acosta (See Profile), Leland DeGrasse (See Profile) and Judith Gische (See Profile). None of those justices were on the panel that unanimously approved the search in People v. Reid, 104 AD3d 58 (2013). That decision was subsequently voided by the Court of Appeals in its 4-1 ruling.