State v. Negrin

• Decision Date: 09 May 1984
• Docket Number: No. 13019-6,13019-6
• Citation: 37 Wn.App. 516,681 P.2d 1287
• Parties: STATE of Washington, Appellant, v. Allen NEGRIN, Respondent and Cross-Appellant,
• Court: Washington Court of Appeals

Page 516

37 Wn.App. 516

681 P.2d 1287

STATE of Washington, Appellant, v. Allen NEGRIN, Respondent and Cross-Appellant,

No. 13019-6.

Court of Appeals of Washington,

Division 1.

May 9, 1984.

Review Denied July 13, 1984.

Eugene H. Knapp, Jr., San Juan County Pros. Atty., Charles Z Silverman, Deputy Pros. Atty., Friday Harbor, for appellant.

David Allen, Seattle (Counsel on Appeal Only), for respondent and cross-appellant.

RINGOLD, Judge.

Allen Negrin was found guilty by jury verdict of first degree manslaughter. The trial court granted Negrin's motion for a new trial because of errors in the self-defense instructions. The State appeals, arguing that the instructions correctly set forth the applicable law. Negrin cross-appeals, assigning error to the court's rulings on other instructions and evidentiary issues, and challenging the sufficiency of the evidence. We affirm the trial court in all respects.

Allen Negrin and a woman friend went to Negrin's secluded cabin on San Juan Island on August 15, 1982, arriving after sunset. When he entered the cabin, Negrin saw evidence of a burglary. He checked the area, then went back to the car to walk his friend to the house. On their way in they heard a loud stomping noise near the cabin stairs.

Negrin's friend testified that they later heard a noise like branches shaking, which scared them. Despite repeated calls of "Who are you? Identify yourself," there was no answer. She stated that she asked Negrin if he had a gun, and he then took out and loaded a .22 rifle. Negrin testified that he fired several warning shots after receiving no answer to his inquiries. Both said that there was a shouted response to the warning shots, and that the speaker sounded drunk.

Negrin called for emergency help on his CB radio. While he operated the radio, his friend waited by the door with the gun. She testified that she told Negrin "he's coming" because she heard a sound like movement and she was scared and upset. Negrin stated that he shouted warnings from the doorway and then fired more warning shots. He testified that he felt that he had no alternative to firing the shots because he believed that someone was coming at him and he thought he needed to protect himself and his friend. After firing they heard sounds as if someone had been hit. Negrin went out to investigate and discovered a body later identified as Ron Woolf.

Upon Negrin's plea of self-defense the trial court submitted self-defense instructions to the jury. Negrin was convicted of first degree manslaughter, but received a new trial because of instructional error.

SELF-DEFENSE INSTRUCTIONS

The court's instructions 14 and 15 read:

It is a defense to a charge of manslaughter that the homicide was justifiable as defined in this instruction.

Homicide is justifiable when committed in the lawful defense of the slayer or any person in the slayer's presence when the slayer reasonably believes in light of all of the facts and circumstances known to him, that the person slain intends to commit a felony of a violent nature or to inflict death or great bodily harm; and there is imminent danger of such harm being accomplished.

The slayer may employ such necessary force and means as a reasonably prudent person would use under the same or similar conditions as they appeared to the slayer at the time.

(Emphasis added). Instruction 14.

To justify killing in self-defense, there need be no actual danger to the life or person of the slayer, but there must be, or reasonably appear to be under all of the surrounding circumstances, some overt act or some circumstances which would reasonably indicate to the slayer that the person slain is attempting to kill or to inflict great bodily harm upon him. Fear alone will not justify a homicide unless there are reasonable grounds therefore.

The right of self-defense is given only in emergencies to enable persons who are attacked, and to whom it may reasonably appear that their lives are endangered or their bodies are in danger of great physical injury, to defend themselves. The right is limited to the emergency and ends when the emergency ceases. The right is based upon what a reasonable person, having due regard for human life and safety, would do under similar circumstances.

(Emphasis added). Instruction 15.

The trial judge awarded a new trial on the basis of instructional error, stating that the use of "intends" in instruction 14 and "attempting to" in instruction 15 could have misled the jury because

'To intend to' refers to setting the mind upon to accomplish, while 'to attempt to' refers to an endeavor to effect. The former connotes a mental attitude and the latter a physical gesture. To put it another way, an attempt is more than mere preparation.

The State argues that the trial court's distinction between intent and attempt was improper because the self-defense standard is whether the slayer honestly believed, under all known circumstances, that there was imminent danger of grievous bodily harm, and whether there were reasonable grounds for this belief. State v. Wanrow, 88 Wash.2d 221, 559 P.2d 548 (1977). According to the State, instruction 15 merely sets out a standard for assessing imminent danger; "attempting to" as used in instruction 15 encompasses the intent to achieve an end combined with some conduct corroborating that intent. State v. Workman, 90 Wash.2d 443, 584 P.2d 382 (1978). The State contends that instruction 15 did not require an overt act, but provides for "circumstances" or a reasonable anticipation that "circumstances" would immediately follow. The defendant was able to argue his theory of the case under these instructions, according to the State.

The legal definition of attempt was not given to the jury. In the absence of a specific instruction defining a statutory term or instruction, it is presumed that the everyday meaning applies. State v. Pawling, 23 Wash.App. 226, 233, 597 P.2d 1367 (1979); cf. East v. King County, 22 Wash.App. 247, 589 P.2d 805 (1978) (unambiguous statutory language given dictionary meaning). The difference between intent and attempt, as noted by the trial court, is that intent is the mental state of planning to achieve a goal, while attempt is an actual effort to achieve that goal. The use of force is justified when two elements are present: "reasonable ground[s] to apprehend a design on the part of the person slain to commit a felony or to do some great personal injury"; and "imminent danger of such design being accomplished." RCW 9A.16.050(1). The "imminent danger" prong requires the jury to find that the victim honestly and reasonably believed that the aggressor intended to inflict serious bodily injury in the near future. J.Q. LaFond, Self-Defense and Deadly Force, 6 UPSLR 237, 248 (1983).

It is not essential that the aggressor actually be making an attempt to inflict injury in the sense of engaging in physical activity furthering that goal. Threats and intimidation coupled with possession of a firearm, for example, might not constitute an "attempt" in the common sense of "trying" or "endeavoring" to reach a goal, but could be a sufficient basis for a self-defense claim because the circumstances created a reasonable expectation of imminent danger. Instructions 14 and 15 could have led the jury to believe that self-defense was available only if some actual, physical attempt was being made, and was not available if there was merely intent plus imminent danger.

The problem with the instructions is exacerbated by the language in the second paragraph of instruction 15 that "The right of self-defense is given only in emergencies to enable persons who are attacked, ... The right is limited to the emergency and ends when the emergency ceases." (Emphasis added). This part of the instruction strengthens the impression that some physical action or attempt must be in progress before self-defense is justified.

The standard of review is whether the instructions are correct as a matter of law. State v. Williams, 96 Wash.2d 215, 634 P.2d 868 (1981). Using this standard, we find that the instructions were incorrect, and the trial court correctly awarded a new trial. ¹

NOT HARMLESS ERROR

The State next argues that the error, if any, was harmless under the test set out in State v. Britton, 27 Wash.2d 336, 341, 178 P.2d 341 (1947). The State also contends that any error in instruction 15 was cured by instruction 14, because it is not prejudicial error when the instructions, considered as a whole, fairly state the law. State v. Stafford, 44 Wash.2d 353, 267 P.2d 699 (1954). The State reasons that any error was harmless because Negrin was not entitled to a self-defense instruction as there was no evidence on which a self-defense claim could be based. State v. Griffith, 91 Wash.2d 572, 589 P.2d 799 (1979). The State argues that, even if Negrin's version of the incident is accepted, a reasonably prudent person in Negrin's shoes could not find imminent danger of great bodily harm.

There is a test for reviewing instructions:

When the record discloses an error in an instruction given on behalf of the party in whose favor the verdict was returned, the error is presumed to have been prejudicial, and to furnish ground for reversal, unless it affirmatively appears that it was harmless ...

A harmless error is an error which is trivial, or formal, or merely academic, and was not prejudicial to the substantial rights of the party assigning it, and in no way affected the final outcome of the case.

(Citations omitted). Wanrow, 88 Wash.2d at 237, 559 P.2d 548. Thus error here is presumptively prejudicial. The use of the word "attempt" is especially damaging in light of the facts of this case. Negrin testified that he fired because he was afraid, and believed that he needed to protect himself. The "assailant" was in the woods and was not, according to the record before us, making an actual physical effort to attack at the time Negrin fired the...