The People of the State of New York, Respondent v. Andre Martinez, Appellant

Summary

The Court reversed the Appellate Division's judgment and ordered a new trial because the trial court's instruction on the statutory "drug factory" presumption was erroneous and harmless error analysis was inapplicable when the jury returned a general verdict. The decision rests on Supreme Court precedent that a general verdict cannot stand when the jury may have relied on an illegal theory and the record does not show which theory was used. Justice Levine dissented, arguing that the error was harmless.