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WPIC 133.05 Leaving an Unloaded Pistol in a Vehicle—Elements

11A WAPRAC WPIC 133.05Washington Practice Series TMWashington Pattern Jury Instructions--Criminal

11A Wash. Prac., Pattern Jury Instr. Crim. WPIC 133.05 (5th Ed)
Washington Practice Series TM
Washington Pattern Jury Instructions--Criminal
January 2024 Update
Washington State Supreme Court Committee on Jury Instructions
Part XIII. Miscellaneous Crimes
WPIC CHAPTER 133. Weapon Offenses
WPIC 133.05 Leaving an Unloaded Pistol in a Vehicle—Elements
To convict the defendant of the crime of leaving an unloaded pistol in a vehicle, each of the following elements of the crime must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt:
(1) That on or about (date), the defendant [knowingly] was in possession of an unloaded pistol;
(2) That the defendant was at least eighteen years of age;
(3) That the defendant left the unloaded pistol in a vehicle;
(4) That the unloaded pistol was not locked within the vehicle and was not concealed from view from outside the vehicle; and
(5) That any of these acts occurred in the [State of Washington] [City of ] [County of ].
If you find from the evidence that each of these elements has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt, then it will be your duty to return a verdict of guilty.
On the other hand, if after weighing all of the evidence you have a reasonable doubt as to any one of these elements, then it will be your duty to return a verdict of not guilty.
NOTE ON USE
With this instruction, use WPIC 2.25 (Vehicle—Definition), WPIC 133.50 (Pistol—Definition), and WPIC 133.52 (Possession—Weapon—Definition). Also use as applicable, WPIC 10.02 (Knowledge—Knowingly—Definition). With regard to the bracketed word “knowingly,” see the Comment below.
In element (5), choose from among the bracketed phrases depending on whether the case is in superior, municipal, or district court. See WPIC 4.20 (Introduction). For a discussion of the phrase “any of these acts” in element (5), see WPIC 4.20 (Introduction) and the Note on Use to WPIC 4.21 (Elements of the Crime—Form).
COMMENT
RCW 9.41.050(3).
It is unclear whether the elements for this offense include a mens rea requirement. For the separate offense of unlawful possession of a firearm, the Washington Supreme Court has added a knowledge requirement, primarily because of the potential for that offense to target innocent conduct. See State v. Anderson, 141 Wn.2d 357, 366, 5 P.3d 1247 (2000) (also noting that the court's decision was influenced by “the harshness of the statutory penalty, the legislative history, and the absence of a showing of sufficient danger to the public to overcome the general rule favoring a mental element in felony statutes”). The Court of Appeals declined to extend Anderson's knowledge requirement to the crime of carrying a concealed pistol. City of Seattle v. Briggs, 109 Wn.App. 484, 491–92, 38 P.3d 349 (2001). Also, in State v. Barnes, 153 Wn.2d 378, 103 P.3d 1219 (2005), the Supreme Court declined to extend the knowledge requirement to a sentencing enhancement for being armed with a firearm. Practitioners should review the case law in deciding whether to use the bracketed word “knowingly” in the pattern instruction above.
For persons under the age of 18, see WPIC 133.02.04 (Unlawful Possession of a Firearm—Second Degree—Minor—Elements) and WPIC 133.02.05 (Unlawful Possession of a Firearm—Second Degree—Minor—Authorized to Own or Possess).
[Current as of December 2019.]
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