Opinion ID: 2773040
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: mr. bird preserved his objection to the

Text: JURY INSTRUCTION ¶8 The State first argues that the court of appeals erred in finding that Mr. Bird preserved his objection. It contends that Mr. Bird did not preserve his mens rea argument because his only request to the trial court was “that the mental states [intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly] be added to the elements instruction,” whereas on appeal, Mr. Bird argues that the trial court should have defined the terms “receive” and “attempt.” In response, Mr. Bird asserts that his argument on appeal is not that the trial court should have defined “receive” and “attempt,” but rather that it should have identified the requisite mental state for the jury because the mens rea implications of the terms “receive” and “attempt” are unclear. Mr. Bird also argues that continuing to pursue his objection in the trial court would have been futile in light of the court’s comment to Mr. Bird that “[he had] made [his] record.” We agree with the court of appeals and hold that Mr. Bird sufficiently preserved his jury instruction objection. ¶9 First, the State misconstrues Mr. Bird’s argument on appeal. Although his brief includes a discussion of the terms “receive” and “attempt,” the essence of his argument on appeal is that these terms incorporate a mens rea element into the failure-to-respond offense. Mr. Bird has not argued that “receive” and “attempt” should have been defined to the jury, but instead that the jury should have been instructed on the mental states embodied by these terms. In short, Mr. Bird’s argument on appeal is the same argument he made to the trial court. ¶10 Second, Mr. Bird presented his argument to the trial court in a clear manner. To preserve an issue, counsel must raise the issue in the trial court “in such a way that the trial court has an opportunity to rule on that issue.” Pratt v. Nelson, 2007 UT 41, ¶ 15, 164 P.3d 366. We look to three factors to determine whether the trial court had such an opportunity: (1) whether the issue was raised in a timely fashion, (2) whether it was raised specifically, (3) and whether the party “introduce[d] supporting evidence or relevant legal authority.” Id. 4 Cite as: 2015 UT 7 Opinion of the Court ¶11 In this case, Mr. Bird’s objection was timely. Defense counsel raised the objection at her first opportunity to object to the proposed jury instructions. The objection was also specific. The State attempts to characterize Mr. Bird’s objection as overly narrow. But counsel objected on the grounds that she did not “see anything outlining the mental state,” and argued that “there needs to be [an] explanation that [Mr. Bird acted] . . . recklessly or willfully.” In short, Mr. Bird specifically objected to the lack of a mens rea instruction for the failure-to-respond offense as a whole. Finally, although defense counsel did not introduce relevant legal authority, counsel was given only a brief moment to review the statute-based language in the jury instructions and make her objection. Where there was not an opportunity to gather relevant legal authority, it is sufficient—for preservation purposes—that counsel relied on the statutory language in making her objection. ¶12 In sum, we conclude the issue was preserved for appeal because Mr. Bird presented his argument to the trial court in a way that gave the court an opportunity to rule on the issue. Thus, we turn to the merits.