Benefield v. State, A92A0196
| Decision Date | 29 April 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. A92A0196,A92A0196 |
| Parties | BENEFIELD v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Sam J. Gardner, Jr., Moultrie, for appellant.
H. Lamar Cole, Dist. Atty., Charles M. Stines, and Mark E. Mitchell, Asst. Dist. Attys., for appellee.
Appellant/defendant John B. Benefield appeals his conviction for aggravated assault and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime and the denial of his motion for new trial. Defendant contends the trial court erred by failing to charge the jury as to defendant's sole defense, self-defense. It is undisputed that defendant did not submit a written request to charge on the issue of self-defense. Arnold v. State, 163 Ga.App. 94, 96(4), 292 S.E.2d 891 (1982); Lamb v. State, 196 Ga.App. 665(3), 396 S.E.2d 497 (1990).
Defendant contends, however, he made an oral request to charge on self-defense, which defendant contends is a sufficient request to charge to comply with Uniform Superior Court Rule 10.3. In Bullock v. State, 202 Ga.App. 65, 413 S.E.2d 219 (1991), we held that all requests to charge must be submitted in writing, even those covering unanticipated points arising during the trial. Furthermore, our review of the record does not reveal that defendant made a request to charge on self-defense but only that he objected to the trial court's failure to charge on self-defense.
Failure to give a charge on a defendant's sole defense is error regardless of whether the defendant requested a charge on the defense. Henderson v. State, 141 Ga.App. 430(4), 233 S.E.2d 505 (1977). The record reveals, however, that self-defense was not defendant's sole defense. Defendant denied he stabbed the victim during his testimony. Thus, the trial court did not err by failing to charge on self-defense on this basis. See Campbell v. State, 160 Ga.App. 561(3), 287 S.E.2d 591 (1981).
Judgment affirmed.
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Campbell v. State
...OCGA § 5-5-24(b). While it is error for the court to fail to charge without request an accused's sole defense, Benefield v. State, 204 Ga.App. 87, 418 S.E.2d 447 (1992), accident was not the sole defense put forward here. Painter, called by Campbell, presented evidence that she was afraid o......
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Palmer v. State, A14A1882.
...to charge justification as his sole defense irrespective of whether he ultimately requested the charge. See Benefield v. State, 204 Ga.App. 87, 418 S.E.2d 447 (1992) (finding that although “[f]ailure to give a charge on a defendant's sole defense is error regardless of whether the defendant......
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Rowland v. State, A97A1349
...on battery as lesser-included offense of aggravated assault). The same holds true for a charge on self-defense. Benefield v. State, 204 Ga.App. 87, 418 S.E.2d 447 (1992). The exception is where self-defense is the defendant's sole defense. Id. But where the record in an aggravated assault c......
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McMurtry v. State
...v. State , 316 Ga.App. 491, 494, 729 S.E.2d 593 (2012). An oral request to charge does not alter this mandate. Benefield v. State , 204 Ga.App. 87, 87, 418 S.E.2d 447 (1992). Further, even pretermitting McMurtry's failure to make a written request to charge on simple battery, the trial cour......