On April 18, 2023, I went to the highest court in the state of New York. Which is the “New York Court of Appeals” located in the capital of the state Albany, NY. I had the opportunity to go to this court on a field trip organized by the NY City Tech Law and Paralegal Studies department.
The case I observe that day is People v Tyquan Johnson. The appellant’s lawyer is named Paul B. Watkins, while the name of the respondent from Monroe County Assistant District Attorney is Martin P. McCarthy, II. The Joint Judges that were proceeding with the case are Judge Singas, Judge Rivera, Judge Garcia, Judge Cannataro, and Judge Troutman.
Tyquan Johnson was arrested by a police officer because of drug possession. Johnson was then convicted of two counts of third-degree possession of a controlled substance and one of marijuana possession. The Supreme Court denied Johnson’s motion to suppress the evidence. The Appellate Divison, Fourth Department affirmed the Supreme Court ruling. Johnson was appealing his convictions to the state arguing that the drugs recovered from a search and seizure by a Rochester police officer should be deemed unlawful and the evidence should be suppressed. In Court, both lawyers were arguing about the four levels of police encounters. The appellate attorney Paul Watkins argues that the Rochester officer didn’t have levels three and four against his client Tyquan Johnson. On the contrary attorney Martin McCarthy II, argue the officer did have those levels, based on the movement of Johnson inside his vehicle.
My reaction to the case is that law enforcement will say anything necessary to try and arrest a person. It’s interesting to see how cases from the lower courts get brought up to the highest court in New York. To see how much time lawyers have to argue their case in the New York Court of Appeals is fascinating. From this trip, I became keen to pursue a career in becoming a Judge in the New York Court of Appeals. I enjoyed the fact that the Judges were the one’s arguing with the lawyers about the facts in the case.
