(N.J.S.A. 2C:39-16) model jury charge
The
indictment charges defendant with the crime of being a leader of a firearms
trafficking network. That section of our
statutes provides in pertinent part that:
A person is a leader of a firearms trafficking network if
he conspires with others an organizer, supervisor, financier or manager, to
engage for profit in a scheme or course of conduct to unlawfully manufacture,
transport, ship, sell or dispose of any firearm.
In
order to convict defendant of the charge, the State must prove each of the
following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
(1)
That defendant conspired with two or
more persons.
(2) That
the conspiracy included a scheme or course of conduct to unlawfully
(manufacture, transport, ship, sell or dispose) of any firearm.
(3) That
defendant was an organizer, supervisor, financier or manager in such a
conspiracy.
(4) That
defendant occupied a high level position of superior authority or control over
other persons in the scheme or organization and exercised that authority or
control over others involved in the scheme or organization.[1]
(5) That
defendant engaged in the conspiracy for profit.
If
you find that the State has proven each of these elements beyond a reasonable
doubt, then you must find defendant guilty of being a leader of a firearms
trafficking network. If you find that
the State has failed to prove any of these elements beyond a reasonable doubt,
then you must find the defendant not guilty of being a leader of a firearms
trafficking network.
The
first element which the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that
defendant conspired with two or more persons. [Read model jury charge on
conspiracy; if conspiracy already charged, remind jurors of that definition].
The
second element which the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the
conspiracy included a scheme or course of conduct to unlawfully (manufacture,
transport, ship, sell or dispose of)[2]
firearms. Firearm means any handgun,
rifle, shotgun, machine gun, automatic or semi-automatic rifle, or any gun.[3] Manufacture means to receive or obtain raw
materials or parts and process them into firearms or finished parts of
firearms.[4] Transport means to carry from one place to
another. Ship means to send or
transport by any carrier. Sell means to
exchange property, goods or services for money or its equivalent. Dispose of means to give away, lease, loan,
keep for sale, offer, offer for sale, sell, transfer, or otherwise transfer
possession.
[IF APPLICABLE, CHARGE FOLLOWING]
It is not a defense to this charge
that the firearms were brought into or transported in this State solely for
ultimate distribution or dispensing in another jurisdiction.
The
third element which the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that
defendant acted as an organizer, supervisor, financier or manager within the
conspiracy. An organizer is a person who
arranges, devises, or plans a firearms trafficking conspiracy. A supervisor is one who oversees the
operation of a firearms trafficking conspiracy.
A financier is one who is responsible for providing the funds or
resources necessary to operate a firearms trafficking conspiracy. A manager is one who directs the operations
of a firearms trafficking conspiracy.
Defendant, however, does not have to be the only or even the primary
organizer, supervisor, financier or manager.
The
fourth element which the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that
defendant held a high level position of superior authority in the firearms
trafficking conspiracy. In other words,
the State must prove that defendant occupied a position of authority or control
over other persons in a scheme or organization of firearms manufacturing,
transporting, shipping or selling and that in that position the defendant
exercised supervisory authority or control over others engaged in the firearms
trafficking conspiracy.
The
final element which the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that
defendant engaged in the conspiracy for profit.
However, the State need not prove that any intended profit was actually
realized. You may infer that a
particular scheme or course of conduct was undertaken for profit from all the
surrounding circumstances, including but not limited to the number of persons
involved in the scheme or course of conduct, the defendant’s net worth and his/her expenditures in relation to his legitimate source(s) of income, the
amount of firearms involved or the amount of cash or currency involved.
[IF APPLICABLE, CHARGE FOLLOWING]
It is not a defense to this charge
that the profit, if any, involved in this scheme was intended to be made in
another jurisdiction.
If
the State has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt any of the elements of
this offense, then you must find the defendant not guilty. If the State has proven beyond a reasonable
doubt each element of this offense, then you must find the defendant guilty.
