Opinion ID: 533792
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Challenge to the Jury Instructions

Text: 15 In charging the jury, the trial court twice instructed it that if it found that Diaz had possessed the checks in question, it could infer from Diaz's possession that he had participated in the theft of the checks, as well. Regarding the inference of participation in the theft, the district court first instructed the jury: 16 Possession of property recently stolen if not satisfactorily explained is ... ordinarily a circumstance [from] which the jury may reasonably draw, but need not, the inference and find that in the light of surrounding circumstances shown by the evidence in the case that the person in possession not only knew it was stolen property but also participated in some way in the theft of the property. Shortly thereafter, it added: 17 If you find beyond a reasonable doubt from the evidence in the case that the checks described in the indictment were stolen, and that while recently stolen the property was in possession of the defendant, you may but are not required to from these facts draw the inference not only that the checks were possessed by the accused with knowledge that the property was stolen but also that the accused participated in some way in the theft of the property, unless possession of the recently stolen property by the accused is explained to the satisfaction of the jury by other facts and circumstances in the evidence of the case. 18 Although the statute under which the jury convicted Diaz for possessing the stolen checks, 18 U.S.C. § 1708, proscribes the theft of property sent through the United States mails, Diaz was charged only for possession and conspiracy to possess, and not for theft. The Government concedes that the charge was gratuitous. Diaz maintains that the charge was not only gratuitous but moreover was overly prejudicial. We agree with Diaz that the theft charge on balance was prejudicially erroneous. 2 19 The Government contends that the trial court's extraneous charge on the issue of theft did not prejudice Diaz in any way. In particular, it notes that in United States v. Baty, 486 F.2d 240 (5th Cir.1973), cert. denied, 416 U.S. 942, 94 S.Ct. 1948, 40 L.Ed.2d 294 (1974), the Fifth Circuit found the use of this precise instruction in a context quite similar, if not identical, to this case harmless error. There the instruction allowed the jury to infer participation in the theft of checks stolen from the mails by a defendant charged only with knowing possession of the stolen checks. Although acknowledging that the charge was extraneous, the court in Baty reasoned that the charge did not attribute to the defendant any greater guilty knowledge than would have existed in its absence and that, in any event, [t]he jury was still left free to draw its own inferences from all the evidence. Id. at 243. 20 The Government here goes beyond asserting that the charge was benign. If anything, it insists, the charge actually worked to Diaz's advantage by potentially misleading the jury into concluding that theft was another element of the crime that it would have to find to convict Diaz. 21 We agree with the Government on one point: The charge was potentially misleading. Contrary to the rosy gloss the Government seeks to paint on to the theft charge, we find it more plausible that the charge significantly disadvantaged Diaz. Evidence introduced at trial supported a finding that Diaz did indeed possess the stolen checks, and Diaz's defense essentially conceded this point and instead concentrated upon contesting Diaz's knowledge of the checks' origins. Because Diaz did not dispute possession, given this charge, little stood in the way of the jury presuming Diaz's participation in the theft. Moreover, until the trial court had issued its theft charge to the jury, Diaz had no incentive to offer any evidence to defeat the presumption of his participation in the theft. Diaz was not charged with theft, nor was theft an element of any crime for which Diaz was charged. In sum, it is unavoidable to conclude that the jury did take the district court up on its invitation and presume that Diaz in fact stole the checks. 22 As we have noted earlier, the key issue facing the jury in deciding whether to convict was whether Diaz knew the checks were stolen. However, before the jury even came around to considering this key issue, Diaz found himself in a deep hole. Once the jury reached its likely conclusion from the trial court's concededly gratuitous charge that Diaz had participated in the theft of the checks, it was a short step from the ultimate conclusion that Diaz possessed the checks knowing them to be stolen. Indeed, if the jury were to have found that Diaz stole the checks, it would have been logically impossible for it then to have concluded Diaz did not know the checks were stolen when he agreed to possess them and later took possession of them. Thus, the jury never had to ask whether Diaz had the requisite mental state to possess knowingly stolen checks or to conspire to possess knowingly stolen checks. When played out to its reasonable conclusion, the trial court's theft charge asked and answered this very question. The charge therefore tended to concentrate the jury on the wrong issue. 23 Because the trial court's charge allowing the jury to presume Diaz's participation in the theft of the checks potentially predisposed the jury to convict Diaz, we hold the charge deprived Diaz of a fair trial. Accordingly, we reverse the conviction and remand for a new trial. To the extent our decision is at odds with the Fifth Circuit's holding in Baty, we decline to follow it. 24 Judgment reversed, cause remanded.