Opinion
May 6, 1991
Appeal from the County Court, Dutchess County (Hillery, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant, a motorist who was stopped for a traffic infraction but who was subsequently arrested for possession of marihuana and charged with possession of marihuana and cocaine, contests the determination of the hearing court that the marihuana was observed in plain view in the interior of the vehicle.
The resolution of the question of whether the marihuana was in plain view involved determinations of credibility of the witnesses. In the absence of any basis in the record for finding that the hearing court's determinations were "clearly erroneous" (see, People v Gordon, 150 A.D.2d 487; see also, People v Garafolo, 44 A.D.2d 86, 88) and according great weight to the hearing court's suppression determinations since it had the advantage of seeing and hearing the witnesses (see, People v Prochilo, 41 N.Y.2d 759, 761), we decline to disturb its finding that the arresting State Troopers were credible witnesses and that the marihuana was in plain view (see, People v Lopez, 154 A.D.2d 715). Hence suppression of the marijuana and the other evidence was properly denied. Thompson, J.P., Bracken, Brown and Eiber, JJ., concur.