State v. Arthur

Appellant basically contends that guilty knowledge, an essential element of the crime charged, may not properly, consistent with due process, be inferred from proof of the element of possession.

Barnes v. United States (1973), 412 U. S. 837, involved similar facts and presented the same issues as raised herein. There, the petitioner was convicted in federal court for possessing four United States Treasury checks, knowing them to be stolen. On the element of guilty knowledge, the trial court instructed the jury as follows:

“Possession of recently stolen property, if not satisfactorily explained,…