People v. Branigan

In People v. Branigan, 67 NY2d 860 [1986] the police stopped the car the defendant was driving because it had a cracked windshield, void stickers and no front license plate. Although the police gave the defendant an opportunity to produce a license, registration and proof of insurance, the defendant could not do so. When the defendant then began acting "strangely," the police ordered him out of the vehicle for safety reasons (67 NY2d at 861). When they again asked for the paperwork, the defendant simply pointed toward papers on the front seat of the vehicle and said "in there" (id.). An officer then entered the car to look for the paperwork in the area directed by the defendant and saw the butt of a gun under the driver's seat. In upholding the police entry and search of the car, the Court of Appeals noted that for safety reasons the defendant could not have been permitted to look further for the required documentation and, in light of the "diminished expectation of privacy with respect to the contents of automobiles," the officer was justified in looking for the documents in the area specified by the defendant rather than having to arrest him. (Id. at 862.)