Opinion ID: 1959116
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Jury Instruction: Circumstantial Evidence

Text: Floyd raises as his next issue the trial judge's denial of his request to instruct the jury regarding circumstantial evidence. Floyd proposed his own special instruction, which the trial judge declined. Thus, the issue was preserved for review. See State v. Heathcoat, 442 So.2d 955, 956 (Fla.1983) (in criminal case, issue regarding denial of requested jury instruction is preserved for review when the record clearly indicates that a request was made for a specific instruction and that the trial court clearly understood the request and just as clearly denied [it]). We determine that the trial judge did not err in denying the requested special jury instruction. We have previously stated that when proper instructions on reasonable doubt and burden of proof are given, an instruction on circumstantial evidence is unnecessary. See In re Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases, 431 So.2d 594, 595 (Fla. 1981); Trepal v. State, 621 So.2d 1361, 1366 (Fla.1993) (citing In re Standard Jury Instructions. ) Floyd makes no assertion that the instructions on reasonable doubt and burden of proof were not given or that they were faulty. We determine that the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in denying the requested instruction on circumstantial evidence.