 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Garrett12/1/2005
onable doubt that the defendant was aware that his conduct was reasonably certain to cause death. See id. at 59 (inclusion of "superfluous language in the `knowingly' definition did not lessen the burden of proof because it did not relieve the State of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant acted knowingly"). Furthermore, the essence of the defense theory was that the fire ignited accidently and was not fueled by a chemical accellerator. Thus, causation and not the defendant's mens rea was the central issue. See Page, 81 S.W.3d at 789 (suggesting an erroneous mens rea instruction would likely be harmless when identity, not mens rea, was the disputed issue at trial).
The defendant's final mens rea instructional error is that the jury was permitted to presume that the death of the alleged victim supplied the intentional and knowing elements of the underlying arson. However, we are satisfied this did not occur. The trial court was careful to instruct the jury that the intent to commit the underlying felony must exist prior to or concurrent with the commission of the act causing the death of the victim.
D. Unlawful Purpose
According to the defendant, it was prejudicial error for the trial court to fail to define the "unlawful purpose" element of the underlying offense of arson. We are not aware of any such instructional requirement, and the defendant certainly cites no authority for this argument; nor does he indicate how the term should have been defined other than suggesting that an unlawful purpose "denotes an intended result of a violation of further statute or ordinance." Inasmuch as the state's theory was that the defendant set fire to the residence to kill the victim who was locked or trapped in the laundry room, we believe it self-evident that the defendant's purpose was "unlawful."
E. Expert Witness Instruction
The defendant assails the trial court's expert-witness instruction given in this case. The trial court charged the jury in part,
The rules of evidence provide that if scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge might assist the jury in understanding the evidence or in determining a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by reason of special knowledge, skill or experience may testify and state his opinions concerning such matters and give reasons for his testimony.
(Emphasis added).
Because Tennessee Rule of Evidence 702 speaks of an expert testifying if scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will "substantially assist" the trier of fact, Tenn. R. Evid. 702, the defendant proposes that the trial court erroneously instructed and invited the jury to consider Agent Cooper's testimony by a lower standard of scrutiny - "might assist."
Our review of the record shows that the defendant filed an original motion for new trial and five subsequent amendments that added additional grounds seeking a new trial. The trial court's expert-witness instruction is not among the cited grounds. This issue accordingly has been waived. See Tenn. R. App. P. 3(e) ("in all cases tried by a jury, no issue presented for review shall be predicated upon error in the admission or exclusion of evidence, jury instructions granted or refused, misconduct of jurors, parties, or counsel, or other action committed or occurring during the trial of the case, or other ground upon which a new trial is sought, unless the same was specifically stated in a motion for new trial"); 36(a) ("Nothing in this rule shall be construed as requiring relief be granted to a party responsible for an error or who failed to take whatever action was reasonably available to prevent or nullify the harm
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Tennessee DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|