Section 2765 | CALCRIM (Jury Instructions)

following the law on receiving, safekeeping, transferring or
distributing public money or was acting without legal authority/
[or] was criminally negligent in failing to know the legal
requirements for or restrictions on (his/her) conduct).]
A person who is responsible for public money only needs to have some
control over the money. That control does not need to be a major part of
that person’s job.
[Criminal negligence involves more than ordinary carelessness,
inattention, or mistake in judgment. A person acts with criminal
negligence when the way he or she acts is so different from the way an
ordinarily careful person would act in the same situation that his or her
act amounts to disregard for the consequences of that act.]
[A person acts fraudulently when he or she makes a false statement,
misrepresents information, hides the truth, or otherwise does something
with the intent to deceive.]
[The term public money includes all funds, bonds, and evidence of
indebtedness received or held by state, county, district, city, town, or
public agency officers in their official capacity. It also includes money
received from selling bonds or other evidence of indebtedness authorized
by the legislative body of any city, county, district, or public agency.]
[A person commits an act willfully when he or she does it willingly or on
purpose.]
New March 2018
BENCH NOTES
Instructional Duty
The court has a sua sponte to give this instruction defining the elements of the
crime.
AUTHORITY
•
Definition of Public Funds/Moneys. Pen. Code, §§ 424(b), 426.
•
Definition of Responsible for/Charged With. People v. Groat (1993) 19
Cal.App.4th 1228, 1232 [24 Cal.Rptr.2d 15].
•
Definition of Fraudulent Behavior. People v. Pugh (2002) 104 Cal.App.4th 66,
72 [127 Cal.Rptr.2d 770].
•
Criminal Negligence Requirement. Stark v. Superior Court (2011) 52 Cal.4th
368, 399 [128 Cal.Rptr.3d 611, 257 P.3d 41].
2766–2799.
Reserved for Future Use
CALCRIM No. 2765
CRIMES AGAINST GOVERNMENT
668