Verdict; form; reconsideration of defective verdict

§ 310.50 Verdict; form; reconsideration of defective verdict.\n 1. The form of the verdict must be in accordance with the court's\ninstructions, as prescribed in article three hundred.\n 2. If the jury renders a verdict which in form is not in accordance\nwith the court's instructions or which is otherwise legally defective,\nthe court must explain the defect or error and must direct the jury to\nreconsider such verdict, to resume its deliberation for such purpose,\nand to render a proper verdict. If the jury persists in rendering a\ndefective or improper verdict, the court may in its discretion either\norder that the verdict in its entirety as to any defendant be recorded\nas an acquittal, or discharge the jury and authorize the people to retry\nthe indictment or a specified count or counts thereof as to such\ndefendant; provided that if it is clear that the jury intended to find a\ndefendant not guilty upon any particular count, the court must order\nthat the verdict be recorded as an acquittal of such defendant upon such\ncount.\n 3. If the court accepts a verdict which is defective or incomplete by\nreason of the jury's failure to render a verdict upon every count upon\nwhich it was instructed to do so, such verdict is deemed to constitute\nan acquittal upon every such count improperly ignored in the verdict.\n 4. In a prosecution involving a charge of enterprise corruption in\nviolation of article four hundred sixty of the penal law, the jury must\nseparately and specifically render a special verdict with regard to each\ncriminal act and any lesser included offense submitted for its\nconsideration as a part of a pattern of criminal activity in addition to\nits verdict on the charge of enterprise corruption. In the absence of a\nunanimous special verdict of guilty with regard to each of at least\nthree criminal acts and/or lesser included offenses submitted for its\nconsideration and legally sufficient to constitute a person's\nparticipation in a pattern of criminal activity within the meaning of\nsubdivision four of section 460.10 of the penal law, the court must\norder that the verdict on the count charging enterprise corruption be\nrecorded as an acquittal.\n