People v. Balas

Brown, J. P.,

dissents and votes to reverse the judgment, on the law and the facts, grant the motion to suppress and dismiss the indictment with the following memorandum: As pointed out by the majority, the Court of Appeals in People v McRay (51 NY2d 594, 604) concluded that a glassine envelope can be considered “the hallmark of an illicit drug exchange”. However, under the McRay rule, as the majority correctly acknowledges, the mere passing of such an envelope is, in and of itself, insufficient to establish probable cause. Additional relevant behavior *1042or circumstances must be present to raise…