ALBANY – The state Court of Appeals said Thursday it does not have authority to review two decisions by Appellate Division panels which reversed the convictions of two men for stealing a Rolex watch near Times Square.

The court said it was blocked under CPL 450.90[2][a] from considering appeals in the Times Square robbery cases, which hinged on whether police had reasonable suspicion to stop and question the suspects just prior to their arrests. The First Department decisions were not “on the law alone or upon the law and such facts which, but for the determination of law, would not have led to reversal,” leaving the Court of Appeals with no authority, the court held in a 6-1 ruling.

In an unsigned memorandum decision, the majority said the First Department's decisions reversing the convictions of William Brown and Patrick Thomas were made on a mixed question of law and fact while those panels exercised their independent fact-finding powers.