[Download] "People State New York v. Lam Lek Chong" by Court of Appeals of New York # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: People State New York v. Lam Lek Chong
- Author : Court of Appeals of New York
- Release Date : January 15, 1978
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 65 KB
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[45 N.Y.2d 64 Page 68] Opinion OF THE COURT The defendant has been convicted of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first degree (Penal Law, § 220.43) for allegedly selling a pound and a half of heroin to two undercover police officers in Manhattan. At the trial the defendant denied selling the drugs and testified instead that he had simply acted as the agent of the buyers, by locating a seller and helping the officers complete the purchase. On this appeal the defendant claims that the trial court erred in charging the jury that he could only be considered an agent of the buyers if he acted purely gratuitously and that if he received any benefit, however slight, from having participated in the transaction, he would not be an agent [of the buyers], but a seller. The prosecutor takes the position that the defendant was not prejudiced by the charge because the evidence, particularly the defendant's own admissions at the trial, conclusively shows that he was not acting solely as an agent of the buyers. The People also urge that the so-called agency defense has been interpreted too broadly by the Appellate Divisions and should either be abandoned or applied only to a narrow class of cases.