Justice Court Reversed

The East Hampton Village Police Department and East Hampton School District officials are eyeing the fallout from a ruling last week that overturned a local teenager's conviction in Town Justice Court for the possession of marijuana.

Village Police Chief Glen Stone metz Jr. said yesterday that the Suffolk District Attorney's office will challenge the ruling in the State Court of Appeals.

The State Appellate Court found that Tricia Anne Reese, who was convicted in Town Justice Court of possession of marijuana, had been searched and detained illegally.

Miss Reese, then 16, was arrested on May 4, 1994, after a car in which she was a passenger was stopped. Police said they found a small amount a marijuana in her backpack.

Community Service

She was found guilty a year later by East Hampton Town Justice Catherine Cahill after a nonjury trial, and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service. She did so.

Now, said Susan Menu, Miss Reese's attorney, her client wants to be paid for the work she did.

Miss Reese reported that she had been handcuffed and detained for more than two hours. Village Police Chief Glen Stonemetz Jr. said attempts had been made to reach the youngster's parents during the time she was being held, but that, because there was a judge sitting at the time, it was decided to take her to court for arraignment.

Ms. Menu, who represented the teenager in the court proceedings, said this week that the police had spoken to Tricia's father, Ted Reese, and had indicated they were going to bring her home.

Law's Intent Cited

She also argued that since Miss Reese was a first-time offender charged with no more than a violation, the police should have issued an appearance ticket and released her.

The whole point of the law was to spare those charged with such violations from being processed and arraigned, the lawyer said.

She had argued unsuccessfully in Justice Court that there was no probable cause to stop the vehicle to begin with, and that the decision to do so had been based on "hearsay."

On Dec. 3, a three-judge panel chaired by Presiding Justice Thomas M. Stark ruled "the search of the knapsack was not reasonably related in scope and intensity to the circumstances which rendered the stop permissible. . . . Her consent to such search was not voluntary." The decision was unanimous and the conviction reversed.

Civil Rights Notice

William F. Farrell, a Riverhead attorney who is an associate of Ms. Menu, represented Miss Reese and another passenger in the car, in notifying both East Hampton Village and East Hampton School District officials after the 1994 arrest that his clients intended to sue for civil rights violations. He is no longer representing the students, but Ms. Menu said yesterday a civil rights suit may be undertaken for Miss Reese alone.

The second student was Ivan Fandino of Amagansett, then 17, who claimed he was "strip searched." Police said he was merely "patted down." He was not charged.

In his notice of claim, Mr. Farrell said the Fandino youth had been "harassed, illegally detained, and assaulted" though he was not charged with wrongdoing.

The Reese girl "suffered substantial damages including severe anxiety, psychological harm, humiliation loss of self-esteem, and emotional distress" as the result of her "traumatic" treatment.

Called Police

Police explained that a school official, later identified in court as James Stewart, a health teacher, called police on the morning of the arrest to ask them to be on the lookout for a car that had left school grounds at about 10:15 a.m. since he suspected its occupants of using marijuana.

A short time later Officer Scott Aldrich spotted the car on Main Street and pulled it over on Pondview Lane.

The Reese youth charged police "intimidated her" into letting them search her backpack; police said she gave her consent. Ms. Menu complained that the quantity of the marijuana found was "minute," and that it was not submitted for testing until eight months later.

Town Response

"It was less than a roach," Ms. Menu told The Star yesterday, holding the tip of her thumbnail. The Reese youth has since moved out of town, Ms. Menu added.

On Tuesday, the Town Board discussed whether to grant Ms. Menu's request that Miss Reese be compensated. Robert Savage, town attorney, said Justice Court equates an hour of community service with $10 in fines, suggesting that the girl could seek $500. John Jilnicki, deputy town attorney, suggested that the town should not agree to anything unless a notice of intent to sue was filed.

Town Supervisor Cathy Lester said she found the situation "aggravating" since the girl actually had marijuana in her possession.

She insisted the town shouldn't pay anything. She added her opinion that Ms. Menu should have asked for a stay of community service if her client meant to appeal. She also said that if the town paid Miss Reese people all over East Hampton would be trying to get arrested so they could work for $10 an hour.

"They should have stopped them, asked, 'Are you supposed to be in school,' followed them back," and let school officials deal with them, Ms. Menu said. "Keep in mind that these are kids who were never in trouble before. They were going to the beach to eat their lunches. Big deal."