People v. Sherman, 27 N.Y.2d 144 (1970)

A conviction for conspiracy to commit multiple offenses can stand even if the conviction for one of the underlying offenses is overturned due to a technicality, provided there is sufficient proof of an agreement to commit at least one of the other offenses.

Summary

Defendants were convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery and larceny, as well as substantive counts of bribery and attempted grand larceny. The Court of Appeals modified the judgments, reversing the bribery convictions because the defendants were not public servants as defined by the bribery statute. However, the court upheld the conspiracy convictions, reasoning that the jury’s finding of conspiracy could rest on the agreement to commit larceny, which was supported by evidence and the attempted grand larceny convictions. The case was remitted for resentencing due to the vacated bribery sentences.

Facts

The defendants were indicted for conspiracy to commit bribery and larceny, along with substantive counts of bribery and attempted grand larceny. The specific facts underlying the charges are not detailed in this memorandum opinion, but the charges stemmed from a single course of conduct. The key fact is that the defendants’ status did not meet the definition of a public servant for the purposes of the bribery statute.

Procedural History

The defendants were convicted in County Court on all charges. They appealed to the Court of Appeals of New York. The Court of Appeals modified the judgment, reversing the bribery convictions but affirming the conspiracy and attempted grand larceny convictions. The case was then remitted to the County Court for reconsideration of sentencing.

Issue(s)

Whether a conviction for conspiracy to commit multiple offenses must be reversed if the conviction for one of the underlying offenses is overturned due to a technicality, even if there is sufficient evidence to support a finding of conspiracy to commit at least one of the other offenses.

Holding

No, because if an indictment charges conspiracy to commit a crime and refers to several separate offenses as purposes of the conspiracy, a conviction may rest on proof of an agreement to commit any one of the offenses without proof of an agreement to commit the others.

Court’s Reasoning

The Court of Appeals reasoned that the conspiracy conviction could stand because the jury found the defendants guilty of conspiring to commit both bribery and larceny. The court acknowledged that the bribery convictions were improper because the defendants did not qualify as “public servants” under the relevant statute. However, this was deemed a “technical classification of the offense and not because of any infirmity in the proof” regarding the agreement to commit bribery. The court emphasized that there was independent evidence and jury findings (in the form of the attempted grand larceny convictions) to support the conclusion that the defendants conspired to commit larceny. The court cited precedent, including People v. Trammell, stating that a conspiracy conviction can rest on proof of an agreement to commit any one of the offenses listed in the indictment, even if not all are proven. The court stated: “Since the jury concluded that the defendants had committed conspiracy to commit bribery and larceny, the fact that it is now determined that the defendants may not be prosecuted for bribery, only because of the technical classification of the offense and not because of any infirmity in the proof, does not upset the conclusion that defendants conspired to commit larceny.” This reasoning prevents defendants who genuinely conspired to commit crimes from escaping punishment based on technical defects in one of the underlying charges, so long as the conspiracy involved another valid offense. The court remitted for resentencing to allow the lower court to adjust the penalties in light of the vacated bribery charges.