NC · jury_instructions
N.C.P.I.—Crim. 223.31
WILLFULLY DAMAGING GOVERNMENT [COMPUTERS] [COMPUTER PROGRAMS] [COMPUTER SYSTEMS] [COMPUTER NETWORKS]. FELONY; MISDEMEANOR.
The defendant has been charged with willfully damaging
government [computers] [computer programs] [computer systems]
[computer networks].
For you to find the defendant guilty of this offense, the State must
prove two things beyond a reasonable doubt:
First, that the defendant willfully [altered] [damaged] [destroyed] a
government [computer] [computer program] [computer system] [computer
network] (or any part thereof).1 A “government computer" means any
computer, computer program, computer system, computer network, or any
part thereof, that is owned, operated, or used by any State or local
governmental entity.
And Second, that the defendant acted without authorization.
If you find from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that on or
about the alleged date, the defendant willfully and without authorization
[altered] [damaged] [destroyed] a government [computer] [computer
program] [computer system] [computer network] (or any part thereof), it
would be your duty to return a verdict of guilty of felonious damage to
government computers. If you do not so find or have a reasonable doubt
as to one or more of these things, you would not return a verdict of guilty
but would determine whether the defendant is guilty of damage to
computers, which differs from the felony in that the State need not prove
that the computer damaged was owned by the government.
If you find from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that on or
about the alleged date, the defendant willfully and without authorization
[altered] [damaged] [destroyed] a [computer] [computer program]
[computer system] [computer network] (or any part thereof), it would be
your duty to return a verdict of guilty. If you do not so find or have a
reasonable doubt as to one or more of these things, it would be your duty
to return a verdict of not guilty.
History
N.C.P.I.—Crim. 223.31 (June 2009). N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-455(b). Prepared by the North Carolina Conference of Superior Court Judges' Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions, assisted by the UNC School of Government; published by the School of Government.
Provenance
- Source
- sog.unc.edu
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-25
- Edition
- 2026-09-24
- Content hash
95ff772d5268224bfc604f051cc4040d109c7a00f537b46a4a943070015df013
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