State v. Cottrell
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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of distributing a controlled substance and conspiring to distribute a controlled substance, holding that the court did not err in instructing the jury and denying Defendant's motion for acquittal.
On appeal, Defendant challenged the conspiracy jury instruction, which alleged five overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy, arguing that the instruction presented either a multiple acts or alternative means problem. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) no unanimity instruction was required because alleging several overt acts in furtherance of one conspiracy does not present a multiple acts case; (2) a jury instruction that lists several overt acts in furtherance of a conspiracy does not create alternative means for the crime of conspiracy; (3) Defendant invited any jury instruction error; and (4) the district court did not err when it denied Defendant's motion for acquittal.
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