Is an instruction to the jury that the jury should accept the testimony of an undercover agent prejudicial?

MultiRegion, United States of America

The following excerpt is from U.S. v. Cox, 56 F.3d 74 (9th Cir. 1995):

All parties claim that the district court committed reversible error by giving an undercover agent instruction to the jury similar to the one given in United States v. North, 746 F. 2d 627, 631 (9th Cir. 1984). They contend that the North instructions apply when there is a claim of entrapment and since there was no claim of entrapment in their case, the instructions gave the government's use of the undercover agent a sense of legitimacy and contradicted a companion set of instructions warning the jury to accept the testimony of the informant with caution. For these reasons, the parties assert that the undercover agent instruction was prejudicial.

Other Questions


How have the courts dealt with the first instruction and second instruction in a motion to deny an instruction? (MultiRegion, United States of America)
Undercover operations in which the agent is an invited informer, in what circumstances will the agent not be able to conduct a search under the Fourth Amendment? (MultiRegion, United States of America)
What is the burden of proving that erroneous or prejudicial instruction was prejudicial to a jury's verdict? (MultiRegion, United States of America)
What is the current state of the law on the use of undercover agents in surveillance? (MultiRegion, United States of America)
What is the test for out-of-court testimonial statements in the context of expert testimony? (MultiRegion, United States of America)
What is the test for instructing a jury to consider a plaintiff's claim that they were not entitled to a jury instruction? (MultiRegion, United States of America)
What is the test for the purpose of instructing a jury to consider whether there is sufficient probative evidence of urgency to justify a jury instruction? (MultiRegion, United States of America)
Is there any case law where a trial court committed an instructional error by removing an element of the crime of wiretapping from the instruction? (MultiRegion, United States of America)
What is the burden of proving that an error in an instruction was so infected by the instruction so infected the entire trial that the resulting conviction violates due process? (MultiRegion, United States of America)
Does instruction 19 inadequately instructed the jury on their public authority defense? (MultiRegion, United States of America)
X



Alexi white


"The most advanced legal research software ever built."

Trusted by top litigators from across North America.