The People of the State of New York, Appellant v. Shimkon Batashure, Also Known as Shimkon Batoshvili, Respondent

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of an indictment for second‑degree grand larceny because the assistant district attorney improperly instructed the grand jurors that legal sufficiency of the evidence was a matter for the prosecutor, not the grand jury. The Court held that under CPL 190.65(1) the grand jury itself must determine whether the evidence is legally sufficient, and that erroneous instructions requiring the jurors to accept the prosecutor's legal determination warrant dismissal of the indictment.