PEOPLE v. RYAN


82 N.Y.2d 497 (1993)

626 N.E.2d 51

605 N.Y.S.2d 235

The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Robert C. Ryan, Appellant.

Court of Appeals of the State of New York.

Decided December 16, 1993.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

James P. Kelley, Wappingers Falls, and D. James O'Neil for appellant.

Michael Coccoma, District Attorney of Otsego County, Cooperstown (Brian D. Burns of counsel), for respondent.

Judges SIMONS, TITONE, HANCOCK, JR., and SMITH concur with Chief Judge KAYE; Judge BELLACOSA dissents and votes to affirm for the reasons stated in the opinion by then-Justice Howard A. Levine at the Appellate Division (); Judge LEVINE taking no part.


Chief Judge KAYE.

Penal Law § 220.18 (5) makes it a felony to "knowingly and unlawfully possess * * * six hundred twenty-five milligrams of a hallucinogen." The question of statutory interpretation before us is whether "knowingly" applies to the weight of the controlled substance. We conclude that it does and that the trial evidence was insufficient to satisfy that mental culpability element.

A subsidiary...

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