NEW YORK FIELD FILE

What New York law actually says, in the words people actually use. Every answer names its source.

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Traffic stopsGetting pulled over, documents, searches, and what happens roadside.
Being stoppedOn foot, on the street, and what you owe an officer who stops you.
Marijuana and drugsWhat the state legalized, what it did not, and where state and federal law disagree.
Impaired drivingImpaired driving stops, field tests, breath and blood tests, and implied consent.
Court and moneyDebt, eviction, small claims, records and school attendance. The side of the system with no officer in it.
Your homeRenting and the landlord, and when the police may come inside.
RecordingFilming police, recording calls, and whose consent the law requires.
Charges and penaltiesHow offenses are graded, jail ranges, fines, and repeat offense steps.
How you carry yourselfSilence, counsel, complying now and contesting later.

Someone asked

“Is weed legal in New York now?”

Cannabis

At twenty-one or older it is lawful to possess, display, buy or carry up to three ounces of cannabis and up to twenty-four grams of concentrated cannabis, to give those amounts without payment to another person of twenty-one or older, and to use cannabis unless state law prohibits it in the place.

Penal Law § 222.05

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Legal information, not legal advice. Every block on this site carries the source it rests on.

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About this guide — education built from New York's Consolidated Laws as the Legislative Bill Drafting Commission publishes them, not a law degree in a webpage. Applying them to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New York attorney or a legal aid office. Current as of October 2026.

This guide covers common situations in real New York encounters. Not the whole legal code, not a replacement for a lawyer.