People v. Sullivan

People v. Sullivan (68 NY2d 495 [1986]) involved the sufficiency of the evidence before the Grand Jury on a lesser included charge after a dismissal of the greater charge. In that case, the Court discussed the difference between a Grand Jury's function and a petit jury's functions. The Court stated that a Grand Jury is permitted to mitigate the harshness of the law by returning a true bill for a lesser offense, i.e., exercising their "mercy dispensing power" and that a petit jury, on the other hand, must convict if they find that the evidence proves all the elements of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt. In People v. Sullivan, the accused, a New York City police officer, argued that he could not be indicted for reckless manslaughter because evidence indicated he would only be guilty of an intentional shooting. New York's highest court reversed the dismissal of the defendant's indictment for reckless manslaughter, concluding that his decision to shoot, albeit intentional, could be found reckless. 503 N.E.2d at 77.