State v. Maloney

Summary

The Montana Supreme Court affirmed Dawn Maloney's felony attempted theft conviction arising from a false automobile theft insurance claim. The court held that the value of the attempted theft was the amount Maloney sought from the insurer and that the jury instructions adequately addressed the value element and lesser-included offense.

Holdings

1. The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the directed-verdict motion because sufficient evidence permitted the jury to find that Maloney attempted to obtain more than $1,000 from State Farm; the relevant property was the insurance claim, not the automobile.
2. The district court did not prejudicially affect Maloney's substantial rights by refusing her proposed valuation instruction because the lesser-included-offense instruction adequately informed the jury that value was an element and that the greater offense required a finding that the value exceeded $1,000.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court abused its discretion by denying Maloney's motion for a directed verdict on the felony attempted-theft charge because the State allegedly failed to prove that the property at issue exceeded $1,000 in value.
2. Whether the district court prejudicially affected Maloney's substantial rights by refusing to give her proposed instruction explaining how to determine the property's value.

Disposition

affirmed