People v. Gittens

Criminal Term erred in denying defendant’s motion to suppress for lack of standing. Because his possession is wrongful, a thief driving a stolen car lacks standing to challenge a search of the vehicle. Nonetheless, the wrongful possession does not vitiate standing that the thief otherwise has. Accordingly, he is still entitled to challenge unlawful interference with his person and thus may challenge a search of the car as the fruit of an illegal arrest (LaFave & Israel, Criminal Procedure § 9.1).

Nonetheless, the police officer had probable cause to arrest defendant. The officer had observed…