U.S. v. Carter

In prosecution on carjacking and unlawful possession of firearm charges, Dist. Ct. did not err in giving instruction on carjacking charge that allowed jury to convict defendant upon showing that defendant had intent to cause serious bodily harm when taking victim's vehicle. While defendant argued that instruction misstated applicable mental state since it should have included phrase "to cause death," instant instruction accurately reflected applicable mental state since govt. need only establish that defendant's actions intended to cause either death or serious bodily harm. Dist. Ct. also did not err in giving jury aider and abetter instruction, even though defendant was charged as principal for carjacking offense, and record otherwise showed that defendant shared mental state of other individual involved in charged offense where defendant stood near said individual, while said individual was holding gun to head of one victim while demanding victim's car.