Matter of Barr v. New York State Dept. of Motor Vehicles

I respectfully dissent. In my view, the evidence was insufficient to demonstrate that the state trooper had probable cause to initiate a traffic stop of petitioner’s vehicle. Accordingly, I would annul respondent’s determination and grant the petition.

A police officer has probable cause to initiate a traffic stop of a vehicle when he or she observes the driver committing a traffic violation (see People v Guthrie, 25 NY3d 130, 133 [2015]; People v Driscoll, 145 AD3d 1349, 1349 [2016]; People v Rasul, 121 AD3d 1413, 1415 [2014]). As relevant here, a driver must operate his or her vehicle’s…