O'KEEFE v. State

After the conclusion of closing argument in appellant’s trial for organized fraud, the trial court changed the instruction on the elements of the crime, from an instruction requiring the jury to find that the appellant and his co-defendant engaged in a scheme to defraud, to an instruction requiring that the jury find that the appellant and/or his co-defendant engaged in a scheme to defraud. Because appellant had relied on the prior instruction in his argument to the jury, we conclude that the error requires reversal.

Appellant and his co-defendant were charged by amended information with…