Opinion ID: 721091
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Denial of defendants' offered jury instruction

Text: 28 Defendants contend that the district court's refusal to instruct the jury with an offered instruction was reversible error. Defendants' offered instruction had two parts: (1) that the government had the burden of proving that B & M Farms was a fictitious partnership beyond a reasonable doubt, and (2) that good faith is a sufficient defense to conviction. 29 We review de novo whether the district court's instruction adequately presented the defendant's theory of the case. United States v. Duran, 59 F.3d 938, 941 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 116 S.Ct. 525 (1995). If the district court's instructions fairly and adequately cover the elements of the offense, the panel reviews the instruction's precise formulation for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Woodley, 9 F.3d 774, 780 (9th Cir.1993). A good faith instruction is unnecessary where the court has already adequately instructed the jury as to specific intent. Duran, 59 F.3d at 941. 30 Here, the district court instructed that the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the element of falsity of the defendants' representations. This instruction fairly and adequately conveyed that the government had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the partnership was fictitious. Moreover, the district court's instruction on specific intent obviated the need for further instruction on the good faith defense. 31 The district court properly instructed the jury in this case. 32