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Waddell v. Maryland11/28/1990
t's cross-examination of the technician.
V.
Appellant also asks whether the trial court erred when it refused to grant his requested jury instructions.
At trial, the police officers and the paramedics testified, over objection, about statements that Carlton Robinson made after he was shot. The trial court found that Robinson's statements were dying declarations and thus admissible hearsay. At the end of the evidence, appellant requested that
the court . . . give an instruction on a dying declaration and ask the jury to return a verdict as to whether or not they believe that the declaration that was made fits the criteria as to whether or not the victim was aware of pending death and that statements were made by the --
I think the jury should be able to make the determination as to whether that is a dying declaration and how much weight to give that statement.
The court denied the requested instruction.
Appellant contends that the court should have given the instruction because it was on an area of law central to his case.
"In a criminal case, the only issue for the jury is that of guilt or innocence. Anything that does not bear upon guilt or innocence is utterly foreign to the only task assigned to the jury." Ehrlich v. State, 42 Md. App. 730, 738, 403 A.2d 371 (1979). The admissibility of evidence is thus a question within the sole province of the trial court; the jury is not to decide such matters. Id. at 737, 403 A.2d 371 (quoting Hamilton and Fletcher v. State, 12 Md. App. 91, 98, 277 A.2d 460 (1971)). We find that the trial court properly refused to give appellant's requested instruction. The trial court, not the jury, decides evidentiary matters.
Appellant also contends that the court erred when it gave the jury the following instruction:
Murder in either degree, first or second, is the intentional killing of another human being without excuse, justification or mitigation. There is no evidence in this case that [the victim's] death was caused by any act or excuse, justification or mitigation on the part of the perpetrator so that you need not consider those factors.
Appellant specifically contends that the court erred when it stated that there was no evidence of excuse, justification, or mitigation and that the court should have told the jury the legal meaning of those factors so that it could have deliberated on the issue.
Maryland Rule 4-325(c) permits the court to instruct the jury on the law applicable to a given case. To that end, subsection (d) allows the court to "refer to or summarize the evidence . . . to present clearly the issues to be decided." There was no evidence of excuse, justification, or mitigation in the instant case. The trial court, rather than improperly commenting on the absence of such evidence, clarified the instructions for the jurors. The court explained which elements were relevant and should be considered in their deliberations and which elements were irrelevant and should be ignored. The court also told the jury that it was the sole trier of fact. The court's instruction to the jury was correct.
JUDGMENTS REVERSED; REMANDED TO THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY FOR A NEW TRIAL. THE COSTS TO BE PAID BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE.
Disposition
JUDGMENTS REVERSED; REMANDED TO THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY FOR A NEW TRIAL. THE COSTS TO BE PAID BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE.
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