Posted: August 8, 2024
Criminal Instructions – Comment Period Closes September 20th, 2024
The following instructions have been amended or created. The Committee requests public feedback on the proposed instructions:
CR430 – Jury Unanimity – Single Offense in More than One Way
CR432 – Jury Unanimity – Evidence of More Occurrences than Charges
CR1008 – Driving With any Measurable Controlled Substance in the Body
CR1101 – Failure to Respond to an Officer’s Signal to Stop (Class A Misdemeanor)
Please reference the instruction(s) in your comments. Although these instructions are subject to a comment period, they are now ready for use. The Model Criminal Jury Instructions Committee will consider all comments made during the comment period and may revise the instructions as appropriate.
This comment is in regards to the instruction for 41-6a-517, Driving with a measurable controlled substance.
Subsection (4) of the proposed MUJI instruction indicates that the government is required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that none of the affirmative defenses listed in 41-6a-517(3) exist. However, this would not be appropriate for all cases under 41-6a-517. Affirmative defenses must be asserted by a defendant, and some evidence provided, before they become relevant to a trial. (See Utah Code 76-1-504.) If a defendant has not asserted the affirmative defense, and no evidence has been provided to support such an assertation, the affirmative defense is not relevant and does not need to be disproved beyond a reasonable doubt.
If subsection (4) is included, there should be clear instructions indicating that it is only appropriate if the case and evidence allows. This should not be a general instruction for all cases filed under 41-6a-517.
The information in subsection (4)(c) regarding the affirmative defense for cannabis is also an incorrect statement of the law. It simply states, “cannabis in a medicinal dosage form or a cannabis product in a medicinal dosage form.” However, the statute goes beyond that and requires not just cannabis or a cannabis product in medical dosage form, but it must be in that form and also ingested and used in accordance with the Utah Medical Cannabis Act. There is more to the affirmative defense than is listed in the MUJI instruction.
This instruction does not comport with the law in these areas and should not be used as drafted in the MUJI Instructions.