Opinion ID: 883813
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: patton's concealment and flight

Text: At trial, the State presented evidence and testimony which established that, on June 12, 1994, Patton left the scene of the crime. Later in the afternoon, a deputy sheriff spotted Patton near the highway three miles south of Boulder. When Patton saw the officer, he grabbed his black bag and fled up a ravine. Three days later, on June 15, 1994, a highway patrol officer apprehended Patton while he was hitchhiking on the interstate south of Boulder. When the officer questioned him, he concealed his true identity, and stated that his name was Beau Justice. Based on this evidence and testimony, the District Court gave the following jury instructions: INSTRUCTION NO. 9 If you are satisfied that the crime charged in the information has been committed by someone, then you may take into consideration any testimony showing, or tending to show, concealment by the defendant. This testimony may be considered by the jury as a circumstance tending to prove a consciousness of guilt, but is not sufficient of itself to prove guilt. The weight to be given such circumstance and significance if any, to be attached to it, are matters for the jury to determine. INSTRUCTION NO. 10 If you are satisfied that the crime charged in the information has been committed by someone, then you may take into consideration any testimony showing, or tending to show, flight by the defendant. This testimony may be considered by the jury as a circumstance tending to prove a consciousness of guilt, but is not sufficient of itself to prove guilt. The weight to be given such circumstance and significance if any, to be attached to it, are matters for the jury to determine. On appeal, Patton contends that the District Court erred when it instructed the jury on the evidence of his post-crime flight and concealment. Patton does not claim that these instructions (Nos. 9 and 10) vary impermissibly from the Montana Criminal Jury Instructions from which they were derived; nor does he assert that the State's evidence of his flight and concealment is insufficient to support the use of these instructions. In fact, he concedes that the State is allowed to introduce evidence of his flight and concealment, and that the jury is allowed to consider that evidence. However, he contends that when the District Court gave Instruction Nos. 9 and 10 it improperly commented on the evidence, invaded the province of the jury, and gave unfair weight to the evidence in favor of the State. The language of Instruction Nos. 9 and 10 was taken verbatim from the Montana Criminal Jury Instructions (1990), published by the State Bar of Montana, and based upon the authority of State v. Walker (1966), 148 Mont. 216, 419 P.2d 300. Furthermore, we have repeatedly upheld the use of jury instructions regarding a defendant's flight. See, e.g., Byers, 261 Mont. at 45, 861 P.2d at 877; State v. Campbell (1990), 241 Mont. 323, 330, 787 P.2d 329, 334; State v. Charlo (1987), 226 Mont. 213, 219, 735 P.2d 278, 281; State v. Shurtliff (1980), 187 Mont. 235, 244, 609 P.2d 303, 308; State v. Gone (1978), 179 Mont. 271, 277, 587 P.2d 1291, 1295. Although most of the cases cited deal with a defendant's flight, it is well established that evidence of concealment is treated in the same manner as flight. See MCJI 1-019 (citing State v. Shaw (1982), 199 Mont. 248, 648 P.2d 287; State v. Armstrong (1980), 189 Mont. 407, 616 P.2d 341; State v. Adair (1970), 106 Ariz. 4, 469 P.2d 823). Additionally, we recognize that [a] jury instruction may be given when it is relevant to evidence or issues in a case, and when it is supported either by some evidence or some logical inference from other evidence presented at trial. Charlo, 226 Mont. at 218-19, 735 P.2d at 281 (citing State v. Kirkaldie (1978), 179 Mont. 283, 292, 587 P.2d 1298, 1304). In this case, the District Court did not improperly comment on the evidence or invade the province of the jury. Instruction Nos. 9 and 10 were based on and supported by the State's evidence, and merely reflected the testimony of the State's witnesses. Patton also asserts that when the District Court instructed the jury on the evidence of his flight and concealment it gave unfair weight to the evidence in favor of the State. However, Instruction Nos. 9 and 10 accurately reflect the law in Montana, that the jury may consider flight by a defendant as a circumstance that tends to prove consciousness of guilt. State v. Pierce (1982), 199 Mont. 57, 63, 647 P.2d 847, 851. Additionally, the instructions were conditioned by the phrase,  may take into consideration any testimony. (Emphasis added.) The instructions, therefore, were not mandatory, and did not impermissibly shift the burden of proof to the defendant. State v. Goltz (1982), 197 Mont. 361, 371, 642 P.2d 1079, 1085. Instruction Nos. 9 and 10 merely instructed the jury to determine the weight and significance, if any, of the evidence of Patton's flight and concealment; and they plainly instructed that evidence of his flight and concealment is not sufficient of itself to prove guilt. Lastly, we recognize that Instruction Nos. 9 and 10 are in accord with our holding in Walker, in which we stated: The evidence is sufficient to support the giving of the [flight and concealment] instruction[s], it was a matter for the jury to accept or reject [defendant's] reasons.... It was the jury's task then to weigh the evidence accordingly. Walker, 148 Mont. at 226, 419 P.2d at 306. Therefore, we conclude that when the District Court instructed the jury regarding Patton's post-crime flight and concealment, it did not give unfair weight to that evidence and did not err.