People v. Kelly

Decision Date27 December 1990
Citation566 N.E.2d 1159,76 N.Y.2d 1013,565 N.Y.S.2d 754
Parties, 566 N.E.2d 1159 The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Appellant, v. Ross KELLY, Respondent.
CourtNew York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
OPINION OF THE COURT MEMORANDUM.

The order of the Appellate Division, 164 A.D.2d 767, 558 N.Y.S.2d 956, should be affirmed.

Defendant's conviction for robbery in the first degree was properly reversed. It was error for the trial court to give the jury a verdict sheet, over defendant's objection, that, in addition to listing the charged crimes, also listed some of the robbery counts' statutory elements (People v. Taylor, 76 N.Y.2d 873, 560 N.Y.S.2d 982, 561 N.E.2d 882; People v. Nimmons, 72 N.Y.2d 830, 530 N.Y.S.2d 543, 526 N.E.2d 33). "Since such an error creates a risk that the jury's deliberative process will be unfairly skewed it puts in serious question the reliability of the ultimate guilt determination (see, People v. Owens, 69 NY2d 585, 590-591 [516 N.Y.S.2d 619, 509 N.E.2d 314 ] )." (People v. Taylor, supra, 76 N.Y.2d at 874, 560 N.Y.S.2d 982, 561 N.E.2d 882.) Further, contrary to the People's contention, defendant's conviction for criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree was also properly reversed, even though the verdict sheet did not list any of that crime's elements. Since the weapon possession count was factually related to the robbery count, it too may have been affected by the improper notations on the verdict sheet (see, People v. Cohen, 50 N.Y.2d 908, 911, 431 N.Y.S.2d 446, 409 N.E.2d 921).

WACHTLER, C.J., and SIMONS, KAYE, ALEXANDER, TITONE, HANCOCK and BELLACOSA, JJ., concur.

On review of submissions pursuant to section 500.4 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals (22 NYCRR 500.4), order affirmed in a memorandum.

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  • Anderson v. Keane
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York
    • September 17, 2003
    ...of state law, People v. Spivey, 81 N.Y.2d 356, 361, 599 N.Y.S.2d 477, 480, 615 N.E.2d 961 (1993); People v. Kelly, 76 N.Y.2d 1013, 1014, 565 N.Y.S.2d 754, 754, 566 N.E.2d 1159 (1990); People v. Taylor, 76 N.Y.2d 873, 874, 560 N.Y.S.2d 982, 983, 561 N.E.2d 882 (1990); People v. Nimmons, 72 N......
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    • New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
    • January 16, 1996
    ...980, 599 N.Y.S.2d 525, 615 N.E.2d 1009; People v. Taylor, 76 N.Y.2d 873, 560 N.Y.S.2d 982, 561 N.E.2d 882; People v. Kelly, 76 N.Y.2d 1013, 565 N.Y.S.2d 754, 566 N.E.2d 1159; People v. FactualPeople v. Sotomayer, 79 N.Y.2d, at 1030, 584 N.Y.S.2d 431, 594 N.E.2d 925, supra; People v. Taylor,......
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    • April 22, 1993
    ...731, 588 N.E.2d 766; People v. Kelly, 164 A.D.2d 767, 558 N.Y.S.2d 956 [reversible error found on other grounds], affd. 76 N.Y.2d 1013, 565 N.Y.S.2d 754, 566 N.E.2d 1159; People v. Rivera, 160 A.D.2d 419, 554 N.Y.S.2d 115, lv. denied 76 N.Y.2d 1024, 565 N.Y.S.2d 774, 566 N.E.2d 1179). Notab......
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