Case Title: State v. Schad

Citation: 142 Ariz. 619, 691 P.2d 710

Docket Number: 

State: arizona

Court: Arizona Supreme Court

Date: 1984-11-29T00:00:00Z

Document:
142 Ariz. 619 (1984) 691 P.2d 710 STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Edward Harold SCHAD, Jr., Appellant. No. 4876-2-PC. Supreme Court of Arizona, En Banc. November 29, 1984. *620 Robert K. Corbin, Atty. Gen. by William J. Schafer III, and David R. Cole, Asst. Attys. Gen., Phoenix, for appellee. Charles Anthony Shaw, Prescott, for appellant. HAYS, Justice. Petitioner, Edward Schad, Jr., was tried and convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. State v. Schad, Jr., 129 Ariz. 557, 633 P.2d 366 (1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 983, 102 S. Ct. 1492, 71 L. Ed. 2d 693 (1982). Later, he filed a petition with the trial court raising numerous issues. See 17 A.R.S. Rules of Criminal Procedure, rule 32. The trial court dismissed the petition. Schad petitioned this court for review, and we granted the petition for consideration of relief on four of the twenty-four issues he raised; relief as to the remaining issues was denied. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Ariz. Const. art. 6, § 5(3), and 17 A.R.S. Rules of Criminal Procedure, rule 32. We address only one issue because it requires reversal of Schad's conviction. Schad contends that the trial court improperly instructed the jury on the crime of felony murder. The court's instruction to the jury reads as follows: There were two underlying felonies in this case: robbery and kidnapping. For the facts of the case, see Schad, supra. The court did not define either felony in its instructions to the jury. While the prosecutor, in arguing felony murder to the jury, indicated what robbery is, this was not sufficient to take the place of the instruction that should have been given by the trial judge. Thus, the jury was informed that it could convict Schad of the first-degree murder if it found the murder was committed during a felony, yet inexplicably, no underlying felony was defined. Fundamental error is present when a trial judge fails to instruct on matters vital to a proper consideration of the evidence. State v. Laughter, 128 Ariz. 264, 267, 625 P.2d 327, 330 (App. 1980). Knowledge of *621 the elements of the underlying felonies was vital for the jurors to properly consider a felony murder theory. This was absent. Since the jurors were given only one form of verdict for first degree murder, we cannot now determine whether they voted for first degree murder based on premeditation or on felony murder. The possibility that they convicted Schad of first degree murder based on the deficient instruction constitutes fundamental error. Cf. State v. Vickers, 138 Ariz. 450, 451, 675 P.2d 710, 711 (1983); State v. Arnett, 119 Ariz. 38, 48-49, 579 P.2d 542, 552-53 (1978). Reversed and remanded for new trial. HOLOHAN, C.J., GORDON, V.C.J., and CAMERON and FELDMAN, JJ., concur.