In re Vivica J.
Opinion of the Court
—In a juvenile de
Ordered that the order is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.
The appellant contends that the Family Court should have found the testimony of the arresting police officer to be incredible and therefore granted her motion to suppress the weapons which a search of the appellant produced.
Much weight must be accorded the determination of the suppression court with its particular advantages of having seen and heard the witnesses (see, People v Prochilo, 41 NY2d 759). Issues of credibility are primarily for the hearing court and its findings should be upheld unless they are clearly erroneous (see, People v Armstead, 98 AD2d 726). In this case, the court’s finding, crediting the testimony of the arresting officer was not clearly erroneous and thus no basis exists to disturb it on appeal.
Moreover, the information provided by the complainant was legally sufficient to provide the police with probable cause to arrest the appellant (see, People v Burton, 194 AD2d 683). Rosenblatt, J. P., Sullivan, Copertino, Santucci and Goldstein, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.