Proposed Jury
Instructions for Conspiracy to
Commit an Offense Against the State
NOTICE TO COUNSEL AND JUDGES: As provided in the Court's Order accepting the proposed jury instructions for a period of working review, the Court's provisional approval "is for the purpose of refining and testing the application and accuracy of the pattern instructions and does not ensure error-free trials, and their use does not carry a no-reversal guarantee. It is not intended that this provisional acceptance is a final approval of the content of any instruction and each judge may use or refuse any instruction as he or she sees fit[,]" according to law. (emphasis added).
CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT AN OFFENSE
AGAINST THE STATE
______________ INSTRUCTION NO. ____
The offense charged in Count _____ of the Indictment in
this case is Conspiracy To Commit The Offense Of ______________________________
Against The State. One of two verdicts may be returned by you under this Count
of the Indictment. They are: (1) guilty; and (2) not guilty.
Conspiracy To Commit The Offense Of
______________________________ Against The State is committed when any person
enters into an agreement with another person or persons for the purpose of
committing the offense of ______________________________ against the State and
one member of the conspiracy subsequent to the agreement committed an overt act
to effect the object of the conspiracy, which conspiracy had not terminated.
Underlying offense
______________________________ is committed when any person elements of
underlying offense
_____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
The essence of the crime of conspiracy is the agreement.
It is not necessary to show that the parties met and actually agreed to
undertake the performance of an unlawful act. Nor is it necessary that they had
previously arranged a detailed plan for execution or that the parties entered
into a formal or express agreement, but rather an agreement can be shown by a
tacit understanding between co-conspirators to accomplish an unlawful act, which
may be inferred from the development and collocation of the circumstances.
The burden is on the State to
prove the guilt of the Defendant beyond a reasonable doubt and the Defendant,
______________________________ is not required to prove himself innocent. He is
presumed by the law to be innocent of this charge and this presumption remains
with him throughout the entire trial.
Before the Defendant, ______________________________ can
be convicted of Conspiracy To Commit The Offense Of
______________________________ Against The State the State of West Virginia must
overcome the presumption that the Defendant, ______________________________ is
innocent and prove to the satisfaction of the jury beyond a reasonable doubt
that:
1.
The Defendant, ______________________________,
2.
in _______________ County, West Virginia,
3.
on or about the _____ day of _______________, 199__,
4.
intentionally entered an agreement and conspired with (another person) (other
persons), to-wit: ________________________________________________________
5.
for the purpose of __________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
6.
(and that ______________________________, a conspirator)
(and that the Defendant ______________________________)
7.
subsequent to the agreement
8.
committed an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy, which conspiracy had
not terminated.
If after impartially considering, weighing and
comparing all the evidence, (both that of the State and that of the Defendant)
the jury and each member of the jury is convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of
the truth of the charge as to each of these elements of Conspiracy To Commit The
Offense Of ______________________________ Against The State, you may find
______________________________ guilty of Conspiracy To Commit The Offense Of
______________________________ Against The State as charged in Count _____ of
the indictment. If the jury and each member of the jury has a reasonable doubt
of the truth of the charge as to any one or more of these elements of Conspiracy
To Commit The Offense Of ______________________________ Against The State, you
shall find the Defendant ______________________________ not guilty.
COMMENT
CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT AN OFFENSE
AGAINST THE STATE
1.
W.Va. Code §61-10-31. "Conspiracy."
2.
State v. Stevens, 436 S.E. 2d 312 (W.Va. 1993); State v. Johnson,
179 W.Va. 619, 371 S.E. 2d 340 (1988); State v. Less, 170 W.Va. 259, 294
S.E. 2d 62 (1981).