Carella v. California

On March 24, 1986, after a jury trial in the Municipal Court of Beverly Hills Judicial District, California, appellant Eu*264gene Carella was convicted of grand theft for failure to return a rented car.1 At his trial, the court adopted the prosecution’s requested instructions applying the statutory presumptions in Cal. Veh. Code Ann. § 10855 (West 1987)2 and Cal. Penal Code Ann. § 484(b) (West 1988).3 Specifically, over Carella’s objection, the court charged the jury as follows:(1) “Presumption Respecting Theft by Fraud:

“Intent to commit theft by fraud is presumed if one who has leased or rented…