Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

Re: Possesion

Possibly. If officer sees weapon, or for some reason pats you down and finds it.

Re: Possesion

This is an interesting question and is covered by the Beltran case. I was practicing as a defense attorney at the time and this case changed the laws in important ways.

An officer who has a right to be where he is (the warrant gave him that right) may take reasonable actions to make himself secure against persons within the enclosed space.

That means that the officer has a right to require you to put up your hands and to check you for weapons by means of a 'pat-down' and to check the contents of any suitcase or backpack you may have in your possession.

A 'pat-down' is when the officer puts his hands on your pockets and person to check for weapons. He may take out any item that is 'hard' (weapon) but not 'soft' (possible drugs).

That is a complete answer and I hope it is helpful. As you can see, you can defend the indictment/charges by (i) attacking the legality of the warrant, (ii) your presence in the enclosed area covered by the warrant, or (iii) by the nature of the weapon found on your person.

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