(N.J.S.A. 2C:35‑13) model jury charge
The defendant is charged with
obtaining a controlled dangerous substance by fraud. The applicable statute reads in pertinent
part:
It shall be unlawful for
any person to acquire or obtain possession of a controlled dangerous substance
. . . by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge.[1]
To obtain a conviction on this
charge the State must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable
doubt:
(1) That defendant acquired or obtained
possession of a controlled dangerous substance;
(2) That defendant did so by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery,
deception or subterfuge; and
(3) That
defendant acted knowingly.[2]
Possession is a knowing intentional
control of a designated thing, accompanied by a knowledge of its
character. Controlled dangerous
substances are defined by statute and specifically include .
Misrepresentation means a false or
incorrect account, explanation or presentation.
Fraud is an intentional deception designed to cause a person to give up
property or some other lawful right.
Forgery is the intentional and unauthorized alteration, change,
creation, completion, execution, authentication, issuance or transfer of any writing. Deception is the purposeful creation or
reinforcement of a false impression, or the prevention of another from
acquiring information which would affect that person's judgment of a
transaction, or the failure to correct a false impression which was previously
created or reinforced. Subterfuge is any
plan or action, device or artifice used to evade the truth.
A person acts knowingly with respect
to the nature of his/her conduct or the attendant circumstances if the person is
aware that his/her conduct is of that nature, or that such circumstances
exist, or the person is aware of a high probability of their existence. A person acts knowingly with respect to a
result of his/her conduct if the person is aware that it is practically
certain that his/her conduct will cause such a result.
Thus, a conviction for the crime of
obtaining a controlled dangerous substance by fraud would require proof beyond
a reasonable doubt that the defendant acquired or obtained possession of a
controlled dangerous substance, that he/she
did so by fraudulent means, and that he/she
acted knowingly, as I have defined these terms for you.
If you find that the State has
failed to prove anyone or more of these elements of the crime beyond a
reasonable doubt, then you must find the defendant Not Guilty of obtaining a
controlled dangerous substance by fraud.
On the other hand, if you find that the State has proved all of the
elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must find the
defendant Guilty as charged.
[1] By
its terms, the statute also applies to any "controlled substance
analog." This should be incorporated into the charge in appropriate
cases. A definition for a
"controlled substance analog" can be found in N.J.S.A. 2C:35‑2.
It
should be noted that the statute also makes it unlawful "for any person to
acquire or obtain possession of a forged or fraudulent certificate of
destruction required pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:35‑21. "This Model Charge is not intended to
cover such a situation.