[DOWNLOAD] "Ronnie G. Underwood v. State Indiana" by Court of Appeals of Indiana No. 1-1176A206 # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Ronnie G. Underwood v. State Indiana
- Author : Court of Appeals of Indiana No. 1-1176A206
- Release Date : January 06, 1977
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 59 KB
Description
Defendant-appellant, Ronnie G. Underwood (Ronnie), appeals to this court following his conviction of theft. Ronnie contends that the trial court erred by giving the jury over his objection State's Final Instruction No. 4 which provided as follows: The exclusive possession of stolen property soon after a theft has been committed, if not explained to the satisfaction of the jury, may raise an inference that the person in possession of such stolen property is guilty of the Theft charged. The inference of guilt does not raise from the mere possession of the property stolen, but arises from the fact of its possession shortly after it has been stolen, coupled with the absence of a satisfactory explanation, or of anything tending to show that such possession is or may be consistent with innocence. (Our emphasis) An instruction such as was given in the case at bar has been repeatedly condemned. See, Arthur v. State (1949), 227 Ind. 493, 86 N.E.2d 698; Vaugh v. State (1939), 215 Ind. 142, 19 N.E.2d 239; Dedrick v. State (1936), 210 Ind. 259, 2 N.E.2d 409; Abel v. State (1975), 165 Ind. App. 664, 333 N.E.2d 848. As stated in Arthur, supra, at Ind. 497, N.E.2d 700: