Pope v. State, AV-382
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
| Writing for the Court | WIGGINTON; WIGGINTON |
| Citation | 458 So.2d 327 |
| Parties | Ben Ruben POPE, Jr., Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Docket Number | No. AV-382,AV-382 |
| Decision Date | 02 October 1984 |
Page 327
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.
First District.
Rehearing Denied Nov. 9, 1984.
Page 328
Michael E. Allen, Public Defender, and P. Douglas Brinkmeyer, Asst. Public Defender, Tallahassee, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., and John W. Tiedemann, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.
WIGGINTON, Judge.
This is an appeal from a conviction of attempted premeditated murder. As his sole point on appeal, appellant alleges that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on his defense of voluntary intoxication. We agree and reverse.
Appellant was charged with the nocturnal stabbing of his roommate's girl friend. On the night in question, when the police arrived at the home, appellant stated that he had been to a bar with his brother, become intoxicated, and returned home when the bar closed. The deputy sheriff to whom appellant had spoken testified at trial that he had smelled alcohol on appellant's breath during this exchange. Appellant's brother testified that appellant had been "pretty well intoxicated" that night. The victim's boy friend, who had been asleep in front of the television set when appellant and his brother arrived home from the bar, testified that their raucous behavior awakened him and he had concluded that they had been drinking. Other witnesses who had been in appellant's company at the bar testified that he had been drinking, but disagreed as to the degree of his intoxication. However, the testimony was undisputed that appellant had been drinking beer since early in the afternoon, and had had at least "eight more beers" while he was at the bar with his brother and friends. The trial court found that the requested jury instruction on the voluntary intoxication defense was not supported by the evidence and therefore denied it.
There is no dispute that appellant was charged with a specific intent crime, attempted premeditated murder. Gurganus v. State, 451 So.2d 817 (Fla.1984); Edwards v. State, 428 So.2d 357 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983); cf. Gentry v. State, 437 So.2d 1097 (Fla.1983). Voluntary intoxication is a defense to any crime requiring specific intent. Gentry; Edwards; Mellins v. State, 395 So.2d 1207 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); Russell v.
Page 329
State, 373 So.2d 97 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979). It is axiomatic that a defendant is entitled to have the jury instructed on the rules of law applicable to his...To continue reading
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Hardwick v. Crosby, 97-2319.
...of formulating specific intent because of voluntary intoxication. While this argument may not be inconsistent legally, see Pope v. State, 458 So.2d 327 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1984); Mellins v. State, 395 So.2d 1207 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1981), it may be so perceived by a jury. Hardwick's refusal to pl......
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Campbell v. State, 88-2599
...1501, 89 L.Ed.2d 901 (1986); Randolph v. State, 526 So.2d 931 (Fla. 1st DCA) review denied, 536 So.2d 245 (Fla.1988); Pope v. State, 458 So.2d 327 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984), review denied, 462 So.2d 1108 (Fla.1985); Tobey v. State, 533 So.2d 1198 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988), review denied, 542 So.2d 990 (......
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Williams v. State, BH-245
...1379 (1983); Palmes v. State, 397 So.2d 648, 652 (Fla.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 882, 102 S.Ct. 369, 70 L.Ed.2d 195 (1981); Pope v. State, 458 So.2d 327, 329 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Johnson v. State, 484 So.2d 1347 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986). Refusal to give the instruction is not error, however, when......
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Garcia v. State, 87-2543
...648 (Fla.1981); Johnson v. State, 484 So.2d 1347 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986); Canty v. State, 471 So.2d 676 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985); Pope v. State, 458 So.2d 327 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). But merely because the court was required to instruct the jury on Garcia's factually supported claim of self-defense doe......