Rice v. State

MURPHY, Chief Judge.

Maryland’s consolidated theft statute, Maryland Code (1957, 1982 Repl.Vol., 1986 Cum.Supp.) Article 27, §§ 340-344, enumerates in five subsections of § 342 alternate methods by which the crime of theft can be committed. 1 This

appeal presents the question whether a defendant, charged with theft, is entitled to a jury instruction that a conviction for this offense could not be obtained unless the jury agreed unanimously on all elements of at least one subsection of the statute. To resolve this question we must address issues both of the proper interpretation of the theft…