In People v. Hall, 21 Misc. 3d 1104[A], 873 N.Y.S.2d 236, 2008 NY Slip Op 51948[U] (Roch City Ct 2007), an officer standing at an observation post (with binoculars) saw a man (the same defendant as in the case at bar) exchange cigarettes from a Newport cigarette box for currency bills.

The officer could not see whether the box had a stamp on it. The cigarette seller was stopped, frisked, and his backpack searched.

Rochester City Court held that as the officer had only a reasonable suspicion to believe the defendant was selling unstamped cigarettes -- not being able to see whether the box had a stamp on it - he was not entitled to conduct a full-blown search of the defendant and his backpack.