People v. Lanahan

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, defendant’s plea vacated, his statement suppressed, and the case remitted to Albany County Court for further proceedings on the indictment.

In the face of the finding by both courts below that defendant’s statement was spontaneous, we conclude as a matter of law that it was not spontaneous as that concept is recognized for purposes of delineating an exception to the rule that a defendant is entitled to suppression of inculpatory statements made by him in the absence of his attorney. The police arrested…