People v. Dillard
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
1Opinion of the Court
OPINION OF THE COURT
Green, J.
When the People have under their control an informant who has played a major role in a defendant’s arrest but fail to call the informant as a witness at trial, the defendant is entitled to have the jurors charged that they may draw an unfavorable inference from this fact, regardless of whether the defendant theoretically had access to *113the informant. The trial court’s error in refusing to honor defendant’s request for such a charge requires that defendant’s conviction of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree be reversed and a new trial granted.
2Cases cited20 opinions
- Sandstrom v. MontanaSupreme Court of the United States · 1979
- People v. AshwalNew York Court of Appeals · 1976
- People v. KennedyNew York Court of Appeals · 1979
- People v. MottAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1983
- People v. RodriguezNew York Court of Appeals · 1975
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3Cited by21 opinions
- People v. GonzalezNew York Court of Appeals · 1986
- People v. KassAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 2008
- People v. WileyAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1986
- People v. MorrisAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1990
- People v. RonchiAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1989
16 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.