People v. Mosley
| Decision Date | 08 May 1986 |
| Parties | , 494 N.E.2d 98 The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Edmond MOSLEY, Appellant. |
| Court | New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
The order of the Appellate Division 112 A.D.2d 812, 492 N.Y.S.2d 403 should be affirmed.
Although the memorandum of the Appellate Division majority incorrectly states that the jury was "instructed that, if the evidence were evenly balanced, the prosecution had not sustained its burden of proving each element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt" (112 A.D.2d, at p. 814, 492 N.Y.S.2d 403). the claim that reversal is required because of the absence from the charge of an instruction that every element must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt was not preserved for our review, the objection having been limited to the confusing nature of the instruction by reason of its use of the words "evenly balanced" (see, People v. Robinson, 36 N.Y.2d 224, 367 N.Y.S.2d 208, 326 N.E.2d 784). Although the latter phrase will in many cases be sufficiently confusing to require reversal, we agree with the Appellate Division majority that, under the circumstances of this case in which the only matter put in issue by defendant was identification, and in which the Trial Judge made clear that "the degree of proof necessary in a criminal case is far greater than the degree of proof necessary in a civil case" and that reasonab doubt "simply means a doubt for which you can point to the evidence, or lack of evidence, as to why you have that doubt", the likelihood of confusion was not sufficient to require reversal.
The remaining claims of error either were not preserved or are without merit.
Order affirmed in a memorandum.
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... ... Turning to the jury instruction, we do not consider the challenged sentence alone and in a vacuum but instead must read the instruction as a whole to determine if it was likely to confuse the jury as to the proper burden of proof (People v. Mosley, 67 N.Y.2d 985, 987, 502 N.Y.S.2d 993, 494 N.E.2d 98; People v. Canty, 60 N.Y.2d 830, 831-832, 469 N.Y.S.2d 693, 457 N.E.2d 800). We agree with the Appellate Division that the objected-to sentence, alone and in a vacuum, was improper and should not have been used because, in isolation, a juror ... ...