MAKING
FALSE GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS
(N.J.S.A.
2C:21-2.1b)[1] model jury charge
Count ____ of the indictment
charges the defendant with making false government documents.
(Read the count from the indictment)
The statute upon which this count of the indictment is based states in
pertinent part:
A person who knowingly makes . . . a
document or other writing which falsely purports to be a driver’s license,
birth certificate or other document issued by a governmental agency and which
could be used as a means of verifying a person’s identity or age or any other
personal identifying information is guilty of a crime.
In this case, the State alleges that the defendant (describe).
In order for you to find the defendant guilty of this offense, the State
must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
1.
That on (cite
date set forth in indictment) defendant knowingly made a (CHOOSE APPROPRIATE: [document ] [other
writing]); and
2.
The document or other writing falsely purported to be a
(CHOOSE APPROPRIATE: [driver’s
license] [birth certificate] [other document]) issued by a governmental agency that could be used as a means of
verifying a person’s identity or age or any other personal identifying
information.
The
first element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that on (cite date set forth in indictment) the
defendant knowingly made a (CHOOSE
APPROPRIATE: [document] [other writing]).
A
person acts knowingly with respect to the nature of his/her conduct or the attendant circumstances if he/she
is aware that his/her conduct is of that nature, or that such circumstances exist, or he/she
is aware of a high probability of their existence.
A
person acts knowingly with respect to a result of his/her conduct if he/she
is aware that it is practically certain that his/her conduct will cause such a result. “Knowing,” “with knowledge” or equivalent
terms have the same meaning.
Knowledge
is a condition of the mind. It cannot be
seen. It can only be determined by
inferences from the defendant’s conduct, words or acts. A state of mind is rarely susceptible of
direct proof but must ordinarily be inferred from the facts. Therefore, it is not necessary that the State
produce witnesses to testify that an accused said that he/she
had a certain state of mind when he/she
did a particular thing. It is within your power to find that such proof has
been furnished beyond a reasonable doubt by inferences which may arise from the
nature of his/her acts and conduct and from all he/she
said and did at the particular time and place and from all surrounding
circumstances established by the evidence.
“Writing”
includes printing or [CHOOSE
APPROPRIATE: any other method of recording information, money, coins,
tokens, stamps, seals, credit cards, badges, trademarks, access devices, and
other symbols of value, right, privilege, or identification, including retail
sales receipts, universal product code (UPC) labels and checks.[2]]
The
second element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the (CHOOSE APPROPRIATE: [document] [other
writing]) was falsely purported to
be a (CHOOSE APPROPRIATE: [driver’s
license] [birth certificate] [other document]) issued by a governmental agency.
(CHOOSE APPROPRIATE: [The
State has offered evidence] [It has been stipulated]) that the (insert name of
governmental agency) is a governmental agency. The second element also requires that the
State prove beyond a reasonable doubt (or it has been stipulated) that the (CHOOSE APPROPRIATE: [document] [printed
form] [other writing]), purported to
be issued by a governmental agency, could be used as a means of verifying a
person’s identity or age or other personal identifying information.
“Personal identifying information” means
any name, number or other information that may be used, alone or in conjunction
with any other information, to identify a specific individual and includes, but
is not limited to, the name, address, telephone number, date of birth, social
security number, official State issued identification number, employer or
taxpayer number, place of employment, employee identification number, demand
deposit account number, savings account number, credit card number, mother's
maiden name, unique biometric data, such as fingerprint, voice print, retina or
iris image or other unique physical representation, or unique electronic
identification number, address or routing code of the individual.[3]
If
the State has proven each of the elements of this crime beyond a reasonable
doubt, then you must find the defendant guilty of having knowingly making false
government documents. However, if the
State has failed to prove any element beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must
find the defendant not guilty.