Criminal possession of a forged instrument; no defense · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 170.35 Criminal possession of a forged instrument; no defense.
In any prosecution for criminal possession of a forged instrument, it is no defense that the defendant forged or participated in the forgery of the instrument in issue; provided that a person may not be convicted of both criminal possession of a forged instrument and forgery with respect to the same instrument.
In a prosecution for possessing a forged instrument, it is no defense that the defendant forged or helped forge that instrument. ★ But a person may not be convicted of both forgery and criminal possession of the same forged instrument.
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.