Twenty-three years ago, in People v. Torres,1 the New York Court of Appeals parted ways with the U.S. Supreme Court over the predicate for limited protective searches of vehicles in the absence of probable cause. The Court of Appeals clarified Torres in two subsequent cases,2 setting the stage for lower courts to interpret the post-Torres standard for this type of intrusion. Recently, the Appellate Division, First Department, in People v. Newman,3 identified the proper post-Torres standard, after careful analysis of cases from the four departments.
Vehicle Stops
An officer may stop a vehicle to investigate criminal activity when he or she has a reasonable suspicion that its occupants have been, are, or are about to engage in conduct in violation of the law.4 Although an officer may take several protective measures upon stopping a vehicle,5 the Court of Appeals has limited an officer’s right to search the car for a weapon during an investigative stop. In Michigan v. Long, the Supreme Court has permitted such a search on the theory that, even if a motorist is outside the vehicle until the officer’s inquiry is completed, the suspect could then reenter the car and gain control of a weapon.6
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