In re Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases—report 2018-02

• Citation: 256 So.3d 1316 (Mem)
• Decision Date: 25 October 2018
• Docket Number: No. SC18-513,SC18-513
• Parties: IN RE: STANDARD JURY INSTRUCTIONS IN CRIMINAL CASES—REPORT 2018-02.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Florida

256 So.3d 1316 (Mem)

IN RE: STANDARD JURY INSTRUCTIONS IN CRIMINAL CASES—REPORT 2018-02.

No. SC18-513

Supreme Court of Florida.

October 25, 2018

Judge F. Rand Wallis, Chair, Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases, Daytona Beach, Florida; and Bart Schneider, Staff Liaison, Office of the State Courts Administrator, Tallahassee, Florida, for Petitioner

PER CURIAM.

The Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases (Committee) has submitted proposed changes to the standard jury instructions and asks that the Court authorize the amended standard instructions for publication and use. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.

The Committee proposes amending the following existing instructions: 2.1(d) (Insanity — Psychotropic Medication); 3.5(c) (Accessory After the Fact); and 14.1 (Theft). In addition, the Committee proposes new instructions 21.17 (Compounding a Felony) and 29.5 ( [Disorderly Conduct] [Breach of the Peace] ). The Committee published the proposed amendments in The Florida Bar News , and received one comment from the Florida Public Defender Association, Inc., concerning new instructions 21.17 and 29.5. The Committee altered its proposal for new instruction 29.5 upon consideration of the comment. The Court did not publish the proposals after they were filed. We hereby authorize the amended and new instructions for publication and use as set forth in the appendix to this opinion. The more significant amendments to the instructions are discussed below.

First, instruction 2.1(d) (Insanity — Psychotropic Medication), the pretrial instruction that is given when a defendant's ability to proceed to trial is dependent on the use of psychotropic medication, is modified to mirror the language in its corresponding final charge instruction, 3.6(c) (Psychotropic Medication). The word "Insanity" is deleted from the title because instruction 2.1(d) does not address insanity and the word "Insanity" was recently deleted from the title of instruction 3.6(c). See In re Std. Jury Instr. in Crim. Cases—Report No. 2016-04 , 206 So. 3d 14, 16 (Fla. 2016). Additionally, the italicized note at the beginning of instruction 2.1(d) is revised for uniformity with the italicized note at the beginning of instruction 3.6(c). A new final paragraph is also added to the instruction informing the jurors that they should not allow the defendant's present condition in court or any apparent side effect from the psychotropic medication that may be observed in court to affect their deliberations.

Next, instruction 3.5(c) (Accessory After the Fact) is renumbered to 21.18, so that it falls under chapter 21, which contains instructions for specific crimes involving "Obstruction of Justice," rather than under chapter 3, which contains instructions for "Final Charge to Jury," because accessory after the fact is a specific crime. Additionally, an italicized note referencing section 777.03(1)(b), Florida Statutes (2018), is relocated to the comment section, resulting in a new paragraph. The new paragraph addresses considerations that the court may need to take into account if the felony alleged is child abuse, neglect of a child, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child under 18 years of age, or murder of a child under 18 years of age.

Next, instruction 14.1 (Theft) is updated, based in part upon this Court's opinion in Dubose v. State , 210 So.3d 641 (Fla. 2017), to add within the definition of "dwelling" that an enclosure around a curtilage need not be continuous as it may have an ungated opening for entering and exiting. The definition of "motor vehicle" found in section 320.01(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2018), is also added to the instruction. Further, a new paragraph is added to the comment section stating that a special instruction will be required if the defendant found lost or abandoned property and failed to report the description and location to a law enforcement officer, or unlawfully appropriated the lost or abandoned property, citing section 705.102, Florida Statutes (2018).

New instruction 21.17 (Compounding a Felony) instructs upon the crime of compounding a felony, as enacted in section 843.14, Florida Statutes (2018). Instruction 21.17 sets forth the elements of the crime that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, and provides that the court should define the felony alleged. Additionally, a paragraph is added to the comment section that states "§ 843.14, Fla. Stat. links the degree of the felony that was concealed to the degree of the crime that the defendant committed." The paragraph also states, "Although there is no case law directly on point, the Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases relied on the logic in Bowen v. State , 791 So.2d 44 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) to conclude that the State must specify the felony that the defendant knew about and concealed."

The existing and new criminal jury instructions, as set forth in the appendix to this opinion, are hereby authorized for publication and use.¹ New language is indicated by underlining and deleted language is indicated by struck-through type. In authorizing the publication and use of these instructions, we express no opinion on their correctness and remind all interested parties that this authorization forecloses neither requesting additional or alternative instructions nor contesting the legal correctness of the instructions. We further caution all interested parties that any comments associated with the instructions reflect only the opinion of the Committee and are not necessarily indicative of the views of this Court as to their correctness or applicability. The instructions as set forth in the appendix shall be effective when this opinion becomes final.

It is so ordered.

CANADY, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, POLSTON, LABARGA, and LAWSON, JJ., concur.

APPENDIX

2.1(d) INSANITY PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICATION

Give, if requested by defendant, at the beginning of trial and in the charge to the jury.If the defendant's ability to proceed to trial is dependent on the use of psychotropic medication, give if requested by the defense, at the beginning of the trial and in the charge to the jury. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.215(c).

(Defendant)currently is being administered psychotropic medication under medical supervision for a mental or emotional condition.

Psychotropic medication is any drug or compound affecting the mind or behavior, intellectual functions, perception, moods, or emotion and includes anti-psychotic, anti-depressant, anti-manic, and anti-anxiety drugs.

You shall not allow the defendant's present condition in court or any apparent side effect from the medication that you may observe in court to affect your deliberations.

Comment

This instruction was adopted in 2015 and amended in 2018.

14.1 THEFT

§ 812.014, Fla. Stat.

To prove the crime of Theft, the State must prove the following two elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. (Defendant) knowingly and unlawfully [obtained or used] [endeavored to obtain or to use] the (property alleged) of (victim).

2. [He] [She] did so with intent to, either temporarily or permanently,

a. [deprive (victim) of [his] [her] right to the property or any benefit from it.] b. [appropriate the property of (victim) to [his] [her] own use or to the use of any person not entitled to it.]

Degrees. Give as applicable.

If you find the defendant guilty of theft, you must also determine if the State has proved beyond a reasonable doubt whether:

a. [the value of the property taken was $100,000 or more.]

b. [the value of the property taken was $20,000 or more but less than $100,000.]

c. [the value of the property taken was $10,000 or more but less than $20,000.]

d. [the value of the property taken was $5,000 or more but less than $10,000.]

e. [the value of the property taken was $300 or more but less than $5,000.]

f. [the value of the property taken was $100 or more but less than $300.]

g. [the value of the property taken was less than $100.]

h. [the property taken was a semitrailer that was deployed by a law enforcement officer.]

i. [the property taken was cargo valued at $50,000 or more that has entered the stream of commerce from the shipper's loading platform to the consignee's receiving dock.]

j. [the property taken was cargo valued at less than $50,000 that has entered the stream of commerce from the shipper's loading platform to the consignee's receiving dock.] k. [the property taken was emergency medical equipment valued at $300 or more that was taken from [a licensed facility] [an emergency medical aircraft or vehicle].]

l. [the property taken was law enforcement equipment valued at $300 or more that was taken from an authorized emergency vehicle.]

m. [(defendant), individually or in concert with one or more persons, coordinated the activities of another in committing the theft and the value of the property taken was more than $3,000.]

n. [the stolen property was [a will, codicil, or other testamentary instrument] [a firearm] [a motor vehicle] [a commercially farmed animal] [an aquaculture species raised at a certified aquaculture facility] [a fire extinguisher] [2,000 or more pieces of citrus fruit] [taken from a legally posted construction site] [a stop sign] [anhydrous ammonia] [a controlled substance. Under Florida law, (name of controlled substance) is a controlled substance.]]

o. [the value of the property taken was $100 or more but less than $300, and was taken from [a dwelling] [the unenclosed curtilage of a dwelling].]

Give if applicable but only in cases of grand theft. § 812.014(2)(a)3, Fla. Stat.

If you find the defendant guilty of theft, you must also determine if the State has proved beyond a reasonable doubt whether:

p. [in the course of committing the theft, (defendant) used a motor vehicle as an instrumentality, other than merely as a getaway vehicle, to assist in committing the theft and thereby damaged the real property of another.]

q. [in the course of committing

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