People v. McGee

Balletta, J. P.,

dissents and votes to reverse the judgments, on the law and as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, and to order a new trial, with the following memorandum: In my opinion, the combination of charge errors and evidentiary errors made by the trial court requires a reversal of the defendant’s convictions, and I, therefore, respectfully dissent from the majority view.

The trial court, in its charge on the so-called "drug factory” presumption (Penal Law § 220.25 [2]), failed to include the element that the narcotics had to be "in open view” as required by the language…