Opinion ID: 867478
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Failure to Give a Voluntary Act Instruction

Text: ¶ 197 Moody alleges error in the trial court's refusal to give a voluntary act instruction. The proposed instruction directly tracked the language of A.R.S. § 13-201 (2001) that [t]he minimum requirement for criminal liability is the performance by a person of conduct which includes a voluntary act or the omission to perform a duty imposed by law which the person is physically capable of performing. We review a trial court's refusal to give a jury instruction for an abuse of discretion. State v. Bolton, 182 Ariz. 290, 309, 896 P.2d 830, 849 (1995). A defendant is entitled to a jury instruction on any theory reasonably supported by the evidence. State v. Melendez, 121 Ariz. 1, 5, 588 P.2d 294, 298 (1978). ¶ 198 Moody argues that his defense at trial was that he was not in control of his actions, and that this argument was supported by the testimony of Drs. Lewis, Morenz, and Sullivan, all of whom testified that Moody reported not being in control of his actions. Moody misconstrues the voluntary act necessary to support the imposition of criminal responsibility. As a result, the trial court correctly determined that a voluntary act instruction was not reasonably supported by the evidence. ¶ 199 In State v. Lara, 183 Ariz. 233, 234, 902 P.2d 1337, 1338 (1995), this court clarified that the voluntary act requirement of A.R.S. § 13-201 merely codified the common-law actus reus requirement. In Lara, the defendant asserted that he had not acted voluntarily because he suffered from an organic brain impairment and personality disorder. Id. We held, however, that the term `voluntary act' [means] a determined conscious bodily movement, in contrast to a knee-jerk reflex driven by the autonomic nervous system. Id. at 234-35, 902 P.2d at 1338-39. We noted bodily movement[s] while unconscious, asleep, under hypnosis, or during an epileptic fit as examples of involuntary acts. Id. at 234, 902 P.2d at 1338. Thus, despite Lara's brain damage and personality disorders, the court found no evidence that his act was involuntary: Lara's expert testimony falls far short of this. [Lara] was not unconscious. [He] was relentless in his effort and determination. He was thus not entitled to a voluntary act instruction under A.R.S. § 13-201. Id. ¶ 200 The same reasoning applies in this case. Moody's alleged dissociative identity disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and other brain impairments may bear upon the mens rea determination, but do not inform the actus reus determination. See A.R.S. § 13-502(A). As in Lara, no expert testimony here suggested that Moody's actions were not performed consciously and as a result of effort and determination. Of the many doctors who testified at the various stages of this trial, only Dr. Lewis opined that Moody was clearly in a dissociated state at the time of the murders, and that it is not uncommon in people who dissociate [to] feel as though they're being controlled by something else. (Emphasis added.) Even if the jury accepted this testimony, Moody's self-reported feeling of not being in control falls short of demonstrating that his actions were not voluntary. No mental health expert suggested that Moody was actually being controlled by something or someone else, which is what Lara requires to demonstrate the lack of a voluntary act. 183 Ariz. at 235, 902 P.2d at 1339 (requiring a knee-jerk reflex driven by the autonomic nervous system). ¶ 201 No evidence in this case reasonably supported a finding of a lack of a voluntary act. Consequently, Moody was not entitled to a voluntary act instruction and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to give one.