253 results for 'cat:"Jury Instructions"'.
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and other offenses. The trial court correctly instructed the jury on party to a crime and conspiracy because there was at least slight evidence to support the theories. The trial court also did not commit any error by instructing the jury that provocation by words alone was not a defense to murder. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: S23A0682, Categories: Murder, jury Instructions
J. Witt finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of abuse of a child and sentenced him to five years in prison. The jury instructions did not impermissibly allow the jury to convict defendant based on non-unanimous findings. Rather, they properly required the jury to find that the father inflicted the injuries on his child due to her issues potty-training. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Witt, Filed On: October 10, 2023, Case #: WD85526, Categories: Child Victims, jury Instructions
J. Carlton finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of burglary for stealing equipment from a shed at the Hattiesburg Department of Public Works, and sentenced him to seven years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Defendant argues the jury should have been instructed on the lesser-included offense of larceny, but the instant court makes clear that larceny is a lesser-nonincluded offense, and defendants are no longer entitled to those instructions.The instant court finds no error in the lower court's findings. Affirmed.
Court: Mississippi Court Of Appeals, Judge: Carlton, Filed On: October 10, 2023, Case #: 2022-KA-01118-COA, Categories: Burglary, Evidence, jury Instructions
J. Moeller finds that the trial court properly provided the jury instructions for felony battery on a police officer and denied defendant's request for instructions on either misdemeanor resisting an officer or misdemeanor battery. Resisting arrest is not a lesser included offense of battery and the evidence showed that her kick to the officer's stomach was a felony "strike." Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Moeller, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: 49255, Categories: Resisting Arrest, Battery, jury Instructions
J. Carpenter finds the trial court erroneously included a jury instruction that stated "a defendant does not have the right to use excessive force" during defendant's trial on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon. Under North Carolina law and the Castle Doctrine, a homeowner can use deadly force. The jury was required to determine if the prosecution rebutted defendant's Castle Doctrine defense, and so the jury instruction was misleading and potentially confusing, which requires this court to vacate the conviction and remand for a new trial. Reversed.
Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals, Judge: Carpenter, Filed On: October 3, 2023, Case #: COA22-866, Categories: Assault, jury Instructions
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J. Duhart finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion for a self-defense jury instruction on the assault charge related to three warning shots fired after he initially shot the victim in the chest. Evidence indicates any danger had passed after the first shot struck the victim and the confrontation was effectively over. Defendant had started walking to his vehicle at the time he fired the warning shots, which clearly indicated he was not in fear for his life and intended to leave the scene. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Duhart, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3543, Categories: Firearms, Assault, jury Instructions
J. Yu finds that the lower court properly declined to offer instructions to a jury on a manslaughter charge during defendant's murder trial. Defendant did not bring forward any meaningful evidence that supported his request to have the jury instructed on a manslaughter charge as a lesser offense to his murder charge. Affirmed.
Court: Washington Supreme Court, Judge: Yu, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 101398-1 , Categories: Murder, Manslaughter, jury Instructions
J. Virden finds that the trial court properly convicted a former Arkansas deputy of negligent homicide for fatally shooting an unarmed teenager. The deputy said he shot the the teen in the neck after the teen exited his truck and reached into the bed of the pickup while failing to comply with commands to show his hands. Two witnesses testified that they never heard the deputy tell the teen to show his hands. No abuse of discretion is found in denying the officer's requested jury instruction regarding the definition of "negligence," because the model instruction accurately stated the law, and the modification would have added a provision that did not exist. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Virden , Filed On: September 27, 2023, Case #: CR-22-377, Categories: Negligent Homicide, jury Instructions
J. Hess finds the trial court properly denied defendant's request for a jury instruction on the lesser-included offense of negligent assault. Evidence in the record, including eyewitness testimony from several individuals, proved he fired more than one shot at the party and intentionally aimed his gun at the victim, which supported only a felonious assault charge and conviction. Meanwhile, even though several of the witnesses were intoxicated at the time of the crime, the jury was in the best position to determine their credibility, while video evidence also showed defendant with a gun immediately before the shooting. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hess, Filed On: September 25, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3434, Categories: Firearms, Assault, jury Instructions
J. Stranch finds language in the trial court's jury instructions at defendant's trial on charges of improper distribution of controlled substances, including that it was required to find he "deliberately ignored a high probability" his prescriptions were made outside professional practice, comported with the mens rea requirements of the crimes. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Stranch, Filed On: September 25, 2023, Case #: 22-3240, Categories: Drug Offender, jury Instructions
J. Randolph finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of driving under the influence (DUI) third offense. Defendant was pulled over after almost colliding with a police vehicle on a roadway. During the traffic stop, the officer saw an open beer can in the console of the vehicle and smelled alcohol on the defendant, resulting in a certified DUI officer being called to the scene. The certified DUI officer administered a field sobriety test, which defendant failed, and she was taken into custody and ticketed for careless driving and driving under the influence. Defendant argues the lower court’s handling of jury instructions prejudiced the outcome of her trial, and that she received ineffective assistance from trial counsel. The instant court finds no error in the lower court’s handling of jury instructions and that the defendant abandoned her ineffective assistance of counsel claim by failing to state an issue. Affirmed.
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court, Judge: Randolph, Filed On: September 21, 2023, Case #: 2022-KA-00754-SCT, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Dui, jury Instructions
J. Mead finds that defendant was improperly convicted on Counts 3 and 4, because there was not a specific unanimity instruction given. Those counts included unlawful sexual contact (Class B) and unlawful sexual contact (Class C). The instruction was not required on the remaining counts, however, and those are due to be affirmed. Vacated in part.
Court: Maine Supreme Court, Judge: Mead, Filed On: September 21, 2023, Case #: 2023ME64, Categories: Sex Offender, jury Instructions
J. Dato finds that defendant failed to make a prima facie case for resentencing on a first degree murder conviction. He could still be convicted despite changes to statute made since his conviction. And his allegation that the jury received an erroneous instruction that used now-disallowed "equally guilty" language could have been raised in his previous direct appeal. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Dato, Filed On: September 21, 2023, Case #: D080779, Categories: Murder, Sentencing, jury Instructions
J. Walker finds the lower court properly convicted and sentenced defendant for threatening to assault and murder prominent elected officials after the 2020 presidential election. In a video posted to the platform BitChute, defendant urged viewers to "slaughter" members of the U.S. Congress, which was a “true threat . . . to murder.” The evidence is sufficient to support the conviction and the jury was given proper instructions. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Walker, Filed On: September 20, 2023, Case #: 21-3020, Categories: Sentencing, Threats, jury Instructions
J. Murphy finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for three counts of sexual indecency with a child. Defendant's minor cousins have disclosed that he made sexual comments toward them, soliciting intercourse. One of them, out of fear that he would become physical, began secretly recording him. All testimony and evidence were properly admitted. The court told the jury to disregard the beginning of a vague question by the state that did not indicate a crime for which defendant was previously investigated. Any problem was cured by the instruction. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Murphy , Filed On: September 20, 2023, Case #: CR-22-402, Categories: Sex Offender, Child Victims, jury Instructions
J. Bethel finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, aggravated assault and a firearm offense. The trial court correctly denied defendant's motion for a directed verdict because there was evidence allowing the jury to find that defendant was a knowing participant when he started a dispute with the victim. Defendant's trial counsel was not deficient for failing to request a jury charge on good character evidence. Defendant failed to show that the trial outcome would have been different if the jury had received the charge. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Bethel, Filed On: September 19, 2023, Case #: S23A0670, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Murder, jury Instructions
J. Dillard finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and a firearm offense. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions. The trial court did not commit any error by instructing the jury on voluntary manslaughter as a result of mutual combat or by refusing to instruct the jury on involuntary manslaughter as a result of accident or reckless conduct. There was evidence that defendant and a third party fired guns at each other, supporting the mutual combat instruction. There is no evidence defendant's gun discharged accidentally or that his actions were merely reckless. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: September 19, 2023, Case #: A23A1077, Categories: Firearms, Manslaughter, jury Instructions
[Consolidated] J. Jones finds the district court properly convicted the Mexican national for illegal reentry after a previous deportation. The district court denied defendant's request for a jury instruction about duress relating to his claim that he was forced by a drug cartel to smuggle drugs. Defendant did not present evidence supporting each element of duress. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Jones , Filed On: September 14, 2023, Case #: 21-51125, Categories: Drug Offender, Immigration, jury Instructions
J. Groves finds the trial court properly denied defendant's request for a jury instruction on his affirmative defense claim that he intended to turn over child pornography to police. While he had done so in the past, none of the materials used in the indictment were ever shared with police or other authorities. Meanwhile, the specific search terms used by defendant to obtain the child pornography were sufficient to prove he knew the sexually explicit material he downloaded involved minors, while testimony from the victim that defendant stared at him for long periods of time and grabbed his butt as he picked up a bag of chips was sufficient to convict defendant of sexual imposition. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Groves, Filed On: September 14, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3243, Categories: Child Pornography, jury Instructions
[Consolidated] J. Horton finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for assault and unlawful possession of a firearm stemming from an altercation involving defendant choking his girlfriend, her son stabbing defendant, and defendant stealing a firearm in order to protect himself. Defendant was not harmed by the omission of his defense-of-property theory in the charge. Necessity is a confession and avoidance defense, which requires admitting to the conduct before benefitting from instructions on a necessity claim. The record doesn’t show defendant ever admitted he was in possession of a firearm, and so the court did not err in refusing to charge the jury on his necessity defense. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Horton , Filed On: September 13, 2023, Case #: 09-21-00346-CR, Categories: Firearms, Assault, jury Instructions
[Consolidated] J. Wright finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for harassment of a public servant and assault on a peace officer. Officers responded to a report of a naked, belligerent man, covered in blood. Defendant proceeded to spit on and punch one of the officers, which was recorded on both officers' body cams. The officers testified at trial that they believed defendant was on PCP, which defendant claims had been "laced" into a joint he had smoked, without his knowing. Even if defendant had properly requested a jury instruction on involuntary intoxication, preserving his appellate complaint, the trial court still correctly denied the instruction as it was not raised by the evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wright , Filed On: September 13, 2023, Case #: 09-22-00226-CR, Categories: Assault, Harassment, jury Instructions
J. Boggs finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and other offenses. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions and to allow the jury to reject defendant's claim that he shot the victims in self defense. The trial court correctly refused to charge the jury on voluntary manslaughter and correctly denied defendant's motions for mistrial arising from the prosecutor's statements to the jury about defendant being in jail for more than two years before trial. The statements did not place defendant's character in issue. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Boggs, Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: S23A0736, Categories: Murder, Self Defense, jury Instructions
J. Markle finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of aggravated child molestation and child molestation. The trial court's jury instructions sufficiently covered a charge requested by defendant on witness credibility related to the victim's delayed outcry. The trial court did not commit any error by charging the jury that time is not an essential element of the offenses. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Markle, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: A23A0971, Categories: Sex Offender, Child Victims, jury Instructions
[Consolidated.] Per curiam, the circuit finds that defendant Joseph Percoco's conviction of honest-services wire fraud, committed as a private citizen with deep ties to Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration, should be overturned. The Supreme Court held that jury instructions were erroneous and likely not harmless, and vacating the relevant count and remanding for dismissal would not affect defendant's conviction or sentence on two other counts. Affirmed in part.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: 18-2990(L), Categories: Fraud, jury Instructions
J. Earls finds the court of appeals erroneously determined the evidence was insufficient to give the jury an aggressor doctrine instruction at defendant's trial for the murder of her boyfriend. It improperly considered the evidence in a light most favorable to defendant when it was required to consider it in favor of the state. Not only did evidence in the record contradict defendant's claim of self-defense, including that the victim was shot in the back and defendant sustained no injuries, but her own statements contained various inconsistencies that precluded an aggressor doctrine instruction, as properly determined by the trial court. Reversed.
Court: North Carolina Supreme Court, Judge: Earls, Filed On: September 1, 2023, Case #: 136PA22, Categories: Murder, Self Defense, jury Instructions
J. McFadden finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's motion for a new trial on her convictions for criminal attempt to commit murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and firearm offenses. Defendant failed to show that she was prejudiced by her trial counsel's failure to move to recuse the trial judge. However, the trial court incorrectly limited its jury instruction on the lesser-included offense of reckless conduct to only one of the three counts of aggravated assault. At least some evidence warranted the instruction as to the count for family violence aggravated assault. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: McFadden, Filed On: September 1, 2023, Case #: A23A1119, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Assault, jury Instructions
J. Briscoe finds that the lower court improperly convicted defendant of murder. During trial, the lower court did not allow defendant's attorney to request a jury instruction on the theory of imperfect self-defense. By not allowing that theory to be delivered to the jury, defendant was prejudiced as it unfairly influenced his conviction. Vacated.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Briscoe, Filed On: August 31, 2023, Case #: 22-7012 , Categories: Murder, Self Defense, jury Instructions
J. Ives finds the jury instructions in defendant's trial on a charge of conspiracy to bring contraband into a jail were clearly erroneous. The trial court gave a hybrid instruction that omitted several key elements of the offense and failed to properly define conspiracy. Therefore, defendant's conviction will be vacated, but because sufficient evidence supports her conviction, she can be retried on the same offense with no violation of her double jeopardy rights. Reversed.
Court: New Mexico Court of Appeals, Judge: Ives, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: A-1-CA-39045, Categories: Double Jeopardy, Conspiracy, jury Instructions
J. Golemon finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. Two eyewitnesses testified that when the victim asked defendant to buy beer, he went to his house, returned with a gun and shot the victim in the head. He then hid in a ditch, where police later arrested him. Though defendant gave detectives a statement almost 18 months after the shooting, saying that three “men in black” forced him to smoke synthetic marijuana and kill the victim, then chased him until he fell in the ditch, the jury rejected his duress defense. The evidence is sufficient to support the jury’s rejection of the defense. The court properly refused instruction on involuntary intoxication because defendant stated that the synthetic marijuana didn’t take effect until he fell in the ditch. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Golemon, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 09-21-00106-CR, Categories: Evidence, Murder, jury Instructions