2.01a Separate Consideration -- Single Defendant Charged With Multiple Crimes

• Currency: 2023
• Year: 2023
• Section: Chapter 2 Defining The Crime And Related Matters

2.01A SEPARATE CONSIDERATION--SINGLE DEFENDANT CHARGED WITH

MULTIPLE CRIMES

(1) The defendant has been charged with several crimes. The number of charges is no evidence

of guilt, and this should not influence your decision in any way. It is your duty to separately

consider the evidence that relates to each charge, and to return a separate verdict for each one.

For each charge, you must decide whether the government has presented proof beyond a

reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of that particular charge.

(2) Your decision on one charge, whether it is guilty or not guilty, should not influence your

decision on any of the other charges.

Use Note

Paragraph (2) should be modified when guilt of one charge is a prerequisite for

conviction of another charge, as in RICO cases involving predicate offenses.

Committee Commentary 2.01A

(current through March 1, 2023)

This instruction is modeled after Federal Judicial Center Instruction 46A.

The last sentence of this instruction should be modified when guilt of one charge is a

prerequisite for conviction of another charge. See for example 18 U.S.C. § 1961 (RICO

conviction requires proof of two predicate offenses).