State v. Carnes
Annotate this CaseAfter a trial, Defendant was found guilty of two counts of assault on a peace officer or judicial officer, in violation of Mont. Code Ann. 45-5-210(1)(b). Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred by failing to instruct the jury that the state was required to prove mental state as to every element of the offense. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the given jury instruction was a misstatement of the law because it required the jury to find the deputies were peace officers but not that Defendant knew them to be peace officers; and (2) the error clearly prejudiced Defendant.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.