People v. Torres

OPINION OF THE COURT

Kassal, J.

The trial court’s robing room colloquy with a single juror, conducted in the absence of defendant, and consisting of a personal Allen charge (Allen v United States, 164 US 492), in the face of repeated assertions of reasonable doubt on the part of the juror, deprived defendant of due process of law, and thus mandates reversal and remand for a new trial.

At approximately 4:30 p.m. on March 26, 1988, defendant was apprehended by a police officer as he ran west toward Eighth Avenue on 42nd Street in Manhattan, with complainant, who was shouting for assistance, in…