Harris Texas Jury Instruction Aboutou— - Knowingly - Only When Willfulness or Specific Intent is Not an Element is an important legal concept that applies to criminal cases. This instruction guides the jury on how to consider an act that may have occurred at a specific time "on or about" the mentioned date. In criminal law, the term "on or about" is often used in indictments to provide flexibility regarding the exact date of an alleged offense. The purpose is to acknowledge that pinpointing an exact date can be challenging due to memory, record-keeping, or other factors. Therefore, the instruction allows the jury to consider acts that happened in proximity to the mentioned date as a valid basis for the charge. This flexibility ensures that defendants are not able to exploit technicalities by claiming that an offense occurred just outside the specified date range. The term "knowingly" refers to the mental state or intent of the defendant when committing the alleged offense. Generally, a person must have acted intentionally or knowingly to be held responsible for a crime. However, when willfulness or specific intent is not an element of the offense, the jury instruction comes into play. It means that the defendant doesn't necessarily have to act with a specific intent or willfully commit the act but must have had knowledge of their actions. By using the Jury Instruction Aboutou— - Knowingly — Only When Willfulness or Specific Intent is Not an Element, the prosecution is able to prove that the defendant had knowledge of their actions around the given date, irrespective of whether they willfully or specifically intended to commit the offense. Different types or variations of this jury instruction may exist, specific to the particular offense being charged. Some examples include: 1. Harris Texas Jury Instruction Aboutou— - Knowingly - Only When Willfulness or Specific Intent is Not an Element: Drug Possession. This instruction is used when prosecuting drug possession cases, where the focus is on proving that the defendant knowingly possessed controlled substances on or around the mentioned date. 2. Harris Texas Jury Instruction Aboutou— - Knowingly - Only When Willfulness or Specific Intent is Not an Element: Theft. This instruction applies in theft cases, where the prosecution aims to establish that the defendant knowingly took someone else's property without consent, around the given date. In summary, the Harris Texas Jury Instruction Aboutou— - Knowingly - Only When Willfulness or Specific Intent is Not an Element provides the necessary guidance for the jury to consider acts occurring near a specific date, and that the defendant had knowledge of their actions, even if willfulness or specific intent is not an element of the offense.