Opinion ID: 2609445
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Standard of Review for Jury Instructions

Text: When jury instructions or the omission thereof are at issue on appeal, the standard of review is whether, when read and considered as a whole, the instructions given are prejudicially insufficient, erroneous, inconsistent, or misleading. Arceo, 84 Hawai`i at 11, 928 P.2d at 853 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted); see also State v. Kupau, 76 Hawai`i 387, 393, 879 P.2d 492, 498 (1994). If the instructions requested by the parties are inaccurate or incomplete but are necessary in order for the jury to `have a clear and correct understanding of what it is that they are to decide[,]' then the trial court has the duty either to correct any defects or to fashion its own instructions. State v. Okumura, 78 Hawai`i 383, 411, 894 P.2d 80, 108 (1995) (citations omitted); accord State v. Kinnane, 79 Hawai`i 46, 50, 897 P.2d 973, 977 (1995). Nevertheless, the trial court is not required to instruct the jury in the exact words of the applicable statute but to present the jury with an understandable instruction that aids the jury in applying that law to the facts of the case. State v. Apao, 59 Haw. 625, 645, 586 P.2d 250, 263 (1978), subsequent resolution, 66 Haw. 682, 693 P.2d 405 (1984). Erroneous instructions are presumptively harmful and are a ground for reversal unless it affirmatively appears from the record as a whole that the error was not prejudicial. State v. Robinson, 82 Hawai`i 304, 310, 922 P.2d 358, 364 (1996). If that standard is met, however, the fact that a particular instruction or isolated paragraph may be objectionable, as inaccurate or misleading, will not constitute ground for reversal. Pinero, 75 Haw. at 292, 859 P.2d at 1374. Whether a jury instruction accurately sets forth the relevant law is a question that this court reviews de novo. Richardson v. Sport Shinko (Waikiki Corp.), 76 Hawai`i 494, 504, 880 P.2d 169, 179 (1994).