Opinion ID: 2545886
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Did the Jury Instruction Result in Fundamental Error?

Text: Finally, we address whether the use of the standard jury instruction on manslaughter, which required Montgomery's jury to find that he intended to kill Ellis, constituted fundamental error. Although the State and Montgomery agree that the manslaughter instruction erroneously required a jury finding that the defendant intended to kill the victim, the parties disagree as to whether the use of the erroneous instruction constituted fundamental error. The State contends that notwithstanding the erroneous manslaughter jury instruction, Montgomery's second-degree murder conviction and sentence should have been upheld on direct appeal because the use of the manslaughter instruction did not constitute fundamental error. Conversely, Montgomery argues that the use of the erroneous instruction constituted fundamental error because it deprived him of an accurate manslaughter instruction during his trial for first-degree murder. Montgomery was entitled to an accurate instruction on the lesser included offense of manslaughter. The instruction in this case, requiring the jury to find that Montgomery intended to kill Ellis, erroneously explained Florida law on manslaughter by act. Moreover, it was pertinent or material to what the jury must consider in order to convict. State v. Delva, 575 So.2d 643, 645 (Fla.1991) (quoting Stewart v. State, 420 So.2d 862, 863 (Fla.1982)). Thus, we conclude that fundamental error occurred in this case, where Montgomery was indicted and tried for first-degree murder and ultimately convicted of second-degree murder after the jury was erroneously instructed on the lesser included offense of manslaughter. We have held that [j]ury instructions are `subject to the contemporaneous objection rule, and absent an objection at trial, can be raised on appeal only if fundamental error occurred.' State v. Weaver, 957 So.2d 586, 588 (Fla.2007) (quoting Reed v. State, 837 So.2d 366, 370 (Fla.2002)). Because Montgomery did not contemporaneously object to the manslaughter instruction, we apply a fundamental error analysis here. This Court has explained the proper standard for determining whether an erroneous jury instruction constitutes fundamental error: To justify not imposing the contemporaneous objection rule, the error must reach down into the validity of the trial itself to the extent that a verdict of guilty could not have been obtained without the assistance of the alleged error. In other words, fundamental error occurs only when the omission is pertinent or material to what the jury must consider in order to convict. Failing to instruct on an element of the crime over which the record reflects there was no dispute is not fundamental error and there must be an objection to preserve the issue for appeal. Delva, 575 So.2d at 644-45 (citation omitted) (quoting Brown v. State, 124 So.2d 481, 484 (Fla.1960); Stewart v. State, 420 So.2d 862, 863 (Fla.1982)). Characterized by what it is not, manslaughter is considered a residual offense. See Rojas v. State, 552 So.2d 914, 915 (Fla.1989). Consequently, we have held that the failure to provide a complete instruction on manslaughter may constitute fundamental error. See id. (holding that fundamental error occurred in a first-degree murder trial where the defendant was convicted of second-degree murder and where the trial court failed to instruct the jury that it could not convict the defendant of manslaughter if the killing was justifiable or excusable homicide). Cf. Pena v. State, 901 So.2d 781, 788 (Fla.2005) (holding that the failure to instruct on justifiable or excusable homicide was not fundamental error where manslaughter charge was three steps removed from the offense for which the defendant was convicted and the facts of the case did not support any jury argument relying upon the excusable or justifiable homicide instruction.).