SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK APPELLATE DIVISION : FOURTH JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT DECISIONS FILED JUNE 7, 2019 HON. GERALD J. WHALEN, PRESIDING JUSTICE HON. NANCY E. SMITH HON. JOHN V. CENTRA HON. ERIN M. PERADOTTO HON. EDWARD D. CARNI HON. STEPHEN K. LINDLEY HON. BRIAN F. DEJOSEPH HON. PATRICK H. NEMOYER HON. JOHN M. CURRAN HON. SHIRLEY TROUTMAN HON. JOANNE M. WINSLOW, ASSOCIATE JUSTICES MARK W. BENNETT, CLERK SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department 1147 KA 16-00800 PRESENT: CARNI, J.P., LINDLEY, DEJOSEPH, NEMOYER, AND WINSLOW, JJ. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, RESPONDENT, V MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ROBERT GREEN, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT. THE LEGAL AID BUREAU OF BUFFALO, INC., BUFFALO, HODGSON RUSS LLP (PATRICK E. FITZSIMMONS OF COUNSEL), FOR DEFENDANT-APPELLANT. JOHN J. FLYNN, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, BUFFALO (MICHAEL J. HILLERY OF COUNSEL), FOR RESPONDENT. Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Erie County (Russell P. Buscaglia, A.J.), rendered February 20, 2015. The judgment convicted defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. It is hereby ORDERED that the case is held, the decision is reserved and the matter is remitted to Supreme Court, Erie County, for further proceedings in accordance with the following memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him upon his plea of guilty of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (Penal Law § 265.03 [3]). The charge arose after a police officer observed the vehicle in which defendant was a passenger being operated in violation of the Vehicle and Traffic Law. The officer followed the vehicle in order to initiate a traffic stop, but the driver pulled over and stopped before the officer activated his lights. Upon approaching the vehicle, the officer observed that there were two occupants, one of whom, i.e., defendant, was moving around in the backseat and putting his hands in his front pocket as if he was “stuffing something either in his coat or in his pants as if to conceal it from [the officer].” Although it was winter, both the driver’s and defendant’s windows were open, and the officer detected the odor of marihuana emanating from the vehicle. The officer asked the driver and defendant for identification and thereafter learned that the driver’s license of the driver had been revoked and that defendant did not have a driver’s license. The officer directed defendant to exit the vehicle and place his hands on the patrol car so that the officer could conduct a pat search. Defendant exited the vehicle as directed but thereafter fled, discarding components of a 9 millimeter Glock semiautomatic pistol as he ran. Defendant contends, inter alia, that Supreme Court erred in refusing to suppress the gun on the ground that the officer exceeded -2- 1147 KA 16-00800 his authority in ordering defendant to exit the vehicle and place his hands on the patrol car. Because the driver pulled over of his own volition before the officer activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop, the officer needed only an articulable basis to lawfully approach the occupants of the vehicle and request information (see People v Harrison, 57 NY2d 470, 475 [1982]). That basis was supplied by the officer’s observation that the vehicle was being operated in violation of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 375 (2) (a) (1) (see People v Robinson, 97 NY2d 341, 349 [2001]). Thus, the officer’s conduct “was justified in its inception” (People v Nicodemus, 247 AD2d 833, 835 [4th Dept 1998], lv denied 92 NY2d 858 [1998]). The court determined that the officer had a founded suspicion of criminality prior to ordering defendant to exit the vehicle for the pat search. A founded suspicion of criminality standing alone, however, was insufficient to justify the officer’s conduct in ordering defendant to place his hands on the patrol car in preparation for a pat search (see generally People v Whorley, 125 AD3d 1484, 1484 [4th Dept 2015], lv denied 25 NY3d 1173 [2015]). Nevertheless, in making its determination, the court credited the officer’s testimony that he smelled fresh marihuana emanating from the vehicle and was experienced in detecting marihuana. It is well settled that “[t]he odor of marihuana emanating from a vehicle, when detected by an officer qualified by training and experience to recognize it, is sufficient to constitute probable cause to search a vehicle and its occupants” (People v Cuffie, 109 AD3d 1200, 1201 [4th Dept 2013], lv denied 22 NY3d 1087 [2014] [internal quotation marks omitted]). The court, however, did not address whether the officer’s observation provided probable cause to search defendant’s person, and we cannot affirm the court’s refusal to suppress the gun “on a theory not reached by the suppression court” (People v Ingram, 18 NY3d 948, 949 [2012]; see People v Concepcion, 17 NY3d 192, 195 [2011]; People v LaFontaine, 92 NY2d 470, 473-474 [1998], rearg denied 93 NY2d 849 [1999]). We therefore hold the case, reserve decision, and remit the matter to Supreme Court for a determination whether the officer possessed the requisite justification to conduct a search of defendant (see generally People v Sykes, 110 AD3d 1437, 1438 [4th Dept 2013]). Entered: June 7, 2019 Mark W. Bennett Clerk of the Court SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department 1299 CAF 17-00463 PRESENT: WHALEN, P.J., PERADOTTO, CARNI, NEMOYER, AND WINSLOW, JJ. IN THE MATTER OF JARRETT P. --------------------------------------------- ONTARIO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, PETITIONER-RESPONDENT; MEMORANDUM AND ORDER JEREMY P., RESPONDENT-APPELLANT. DAVISON LAW OFFICE PLLC, CANANDAIGUA (MARY P. DAVISON OF COUNSEL), FOR RESPONDENT-APPELLANT. HOLLY A. ADAMS, COUNTY ATTORNEY, CANANDAIGUA (HOLLY A. ADAMS OF COUNSEL), FOR PETITIONER-RESPONDENT. PAUL BLEAKLEY, GENEVA, ATTORNEY FOR THE CHILD. Appeal from an order of the Family Court, Ontario County (William F. Kocher, J.), entered February 15, 2017 in a proceeding pursuant to Social Services Law § 384-b. The order, among other things, terminated respondent’s parental rights and freed the subject child for adoption. It is hereby ORDERED that the order so appealed from is unanimously modified on the law by dismissing the petition insofar as it alleges that respondent abandoned the subject child and vacating the disposition and as modified the order is affirmed without costs, and the matter is remitted to Family Court, Ontario County, for further proceedings in accordance with the following memorandum: In this proceeding pursuant to Social Services Law § 384-b, respondent father appeals from an order that, inter alia, terminated his parental rights with respect to the subject child and freed the child for adoption. Preliminarily, contrary to the father’s assertion, the record establishes that Family Court terminated his parental rights on both grounds asserted in the petition, i.e., abandonment and permanent neglect, and that the court met its obligation of setting forth the “facts it deem[ed] essential” to those determinations (CPLR 4213 [b]). We agree with the father that petitioner failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence that he abandoned the child (see generally Social Services Law § 384-b [3] [g] [i]; [4] [b]). “An order terminating parental rights may be entered upon the ground that a child’s parent ‘abandoned such child for the period of six months immediately prior to the date on which the petition is filed in the court’ ” (Matter of Mason H. [Joseph H.], 31 NY3d 1109, 1110 [2018], quoting § 384-b [4] [b]). A child is deemed abandoned “if the ‘parent -2- 1299 CAF 17-00463 evinces an intent to forego his or her parental rights and obligations as manifested by his or her failure to visit the child and communicate with the child or agency, although able to do so and not prevented or discouraged from doing so by the agency’ ” (id., quoting § 384-b [5] [a]). “Parents are presumed able to visit and communicate with their children and, although incarcerated parents may be unable to visit, they are still presumed able to communicate with their children absent proof to the contrary” (id.; see § 384-b [2] [b]; [5] [a]; Matter of Annette B., 4 NY3d 509, 514 [2005], rearg denied 5 NY3d 783 [2005]). Here, the record establishes that the father—following up on a prior attempt to establish paternity that he had initially failed to adequately pursue—definitively established his paternity, while incarcerated, less than two months into the six-month period preceding the filing of the petition (cf. Matter of Jake W.E. [Jonathan S.], 132 AD3d 990, 991 [2d Dept 2015], lv denied 27 NY3d 906 [2016]; see generally Matter of Darrell J.D.J. [Kenneth R.], 156 AD3d 788, 789 [2d Dept 2017]). Thereafter, throughout the relevant period, the father initiated communications with the child’s caseworker; sent the caseworker at least four letters inquiring about the child and included a card and drawing for the child in at least one of those letters; and participated in a service plan review. We conclude that the father’s contacts “were not minimal, sporadic, or insubstantial” (Matter of John F. [John F., Jr.], 149 AD3d 1581, 1582 [4th Dept 2017]; cf. Matter of Anthony C.S. [Joshua S.], 126 AD3d 1396, 1397 [4th Dept 2015], lv denied 25 NY3d 911 [2015]; Matter of Rakim D.D.S., 50 AD3d 1521, 1522 [4th Dept 2008], lv denied 10 NY3d 717 [2008]; Matter of Elizabeth S., 275 AD2d 952, 953 [4th Dept 2000], lv denied 95 NY2d 769 [2000]). We therefore modify the order by dismissing the petition insofar as it alleges that the father abandoned the subject child.