Village of Endicott v ANC Heating & Air Conditioning
Apr 15, 2010OUTCOME: Conviction reversed on appeal
The owner of ANC, Lloyd Knecht was within his rights when he insisted on a warrant before he would permit the fire department to inspect his business. Rather than obtain an administrative warrant, the ... Fire Marshal issued him a citation. Before leaving his premises, the fire department stated "We have more power than the police." This case should have been dismissed pretrial based on 33 year old Supreme Court rulings. At trial, Lloyd stood on the 4th Amendment, and his watching of the HBO special "John Adams"; for this, the prosecutor mocked him. Upon conviction after trial, the lower court assessed a $50,000.00 fine. On appeal, County Court held: the section of the law chosen to arrest/prosecute/convict Lloyd Knecht was unconstitutional; the defendant had the right to insist upon a warrant; the conviction and fine was unlawful, and the conviction reversed, case dismissed. It would have been easy to enter a plea of guilty and appease the lower court. Instead, the defendant chose to stand up for his rights and fight for what is right.
