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State v. Harris2/20/1998
instruction was included in the instructions to be given. The court instructed the jury regarding intoxication as follows:
Voluntary intoxication is no defense to a crime unless the crime is one requiring specific intent. And then only under certain circumstances. If you believe that a drunken or intoxicated condition prevented the accused from being able to form the specific intent to commit a crime requiring specific intent, or if the evidence as a whole leaves you with a reasonable doubt as to whether the accused was able to have, and did, in fact, have a specific intent to commit the crime charged due to his drunkenness or intoxication, then you must give him the benefit of that doubt and find him not guilty of any crime requiring specific intent.
The trial court correctly charged the jury and did not err in refusing the defendant's requested charge on intoxication. The term intoxication is a generally understood term which is incapable of precise definition as its meaning can depend upon the particular circumstances involved. See State v. Hightower, 238 La. 876, 116 So.2d 699 (1959). This assignment of error has no merit.
Regarding assignment of error number 7, the defendant submitted the following instruction regarding specific intent and manslaughter:
JURY INSTRUCTION # 2
"To be found guilty of second degree murder, a defendant must have the specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm. Manslaughter consists, in pertinent part, of a homicide committed in the heat of passion. It, too, requires the presence of specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm." State v. Harris, 527 So.2d 1140, 1143 (La. App. 1st Cir. 1988), citing, State v. Hilburn, 512 So.2d 497 (La. App. 1st Cir.), writ denied, 515 So.2d 444 (La. 1987).
The court declined to give this instruction, stating that the jury would be charged with the applicable parts of LSA-R.S. 14:31(A), following the wording of the statute. The trial court's instruction, which tracked the statutory language, along with the instruction on specific intent completely instructed the jury regarding manslaughter and there was no error in failing to include the defendant's requested charge. These assignments of error are without merit.
For the foregoing reasons, the defendant's assignments of error lack merit. Therefore, the defendant's conviction and sentence are affirmed.
CONVICTION AND SENTENCE AFFIRMED.
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