An appeals court has reversed a defendant’s drug conviction because of the prosecutor’s persistent attempts during summations to “impermissibly” shift the burden of proof to the defense.

The Appellate Division, Third Department, ruled 5-0 in People v. Casanova, 105643, that the prosecutor “doggedly” stuck to a line of argument that denigrated the credibility of defense witnesses while describing his own witnesses as honest or saying that they told the truth.