Opinion ID: 1992848
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Inadequate instruction

Text: Defendant argues that even if there is sufficient evidence in the record to support the c(4)(f) factor, plain error was nevertheless committed by the trial court because it did not adequately instruct the jury on the meaning of that factor. Specifically, defendant contends that the trial court's decision to deviate from the model charge provided in the Judges Bench Manual for Capital Cases lowered the State's burden of proof. The trial court instructed the jury that, to find the c(4)(f) factor, you must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the State has produced sufficient evidence upon which you could reasonably conclude that at least one of the purposes in killing Gary Marsh was to eliminate him as a witness against the Defendant, or for the Defendant to avoid his subsequent arrest and prosecution for robbery or attempted robbery. Defendant submits that the charge provided appears to instruct the jury that the reasonable doubt standard applies to whether the State produced evidence from which one could draw a reasonable conclusion about the aggravating factor's existence, rather than to whether the aggravating factor actually existed. In reviewing claims of erroneous jury instructions, the passage in question should be evaluated in the context of the charge as a whole. State v. Wilbely, 63 N.J. 420, 422, 307 A. 2d 608 (1973) (holding that claim of error in jury charge should not be considered in isolation, but charge must be evaluated as a whole to determine its overall effect); accord Marshall I, supra, 123 N.J. at 145, 586 A. 2d 85. When the jury instructions in the present matter are considered as a whole, they clearly were adequate and did not lower the State's burden of proof. The trial court repeatedly emphasized the State's burden of proving each alleged aggravating factor beyond a reasonable doubt as well as the State's burden of proving that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt. With respect to factor c(4)(f) the Court stated: Specifically, the State alleges that aggravating factor (4)(f) exists. The statute reads, the murder committed for the purpose of escaping detection, apprehension, trial, punishment or confinement for another offense committed by the defendant. To find this aggravating factor, you must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the State has produced sufficient evidence upon which you could reasonably conclude that at least one of the purposes in killing Gary Marsh was to eliminate him as a witness against the defendant, or for the defendant to avoid his subsequent arrest and prosecution for robbery or attempted robbery. When the charge is read as a whole, rather than in isolation, including the trial court's instruction that the jury was required to find the existence of each factor beyond a reasonable doubt, the jury instruction made clear that the State's obligation was to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that one of defendant's purposes in murdering Marsh was to escape detection. In addition, not only did defendant's counsel fail to object to the charge, but he affirmatively approved of the exact language used in the instruction at the charge conference. After reading the charge to the jury, the court distributed the verdict sheet; any ambiguity concerning the State's burden of proof with respect to factor c(4)(f) was cured by the clear language contained in the verdict sheet. The verdict sheet asked: Do you unanimously find beyond a reasonable doubt that any of the following aggravating factors exists: (1). The murder was committed for the purpose of escaping detection, apprehension, trial, punishment or confinement for another offense committed by defendant? The verdict sheet contains a clear instruction that the only standard to be applied to each aggravating circumstance is the reasonable doubt standard. See DiFrisco II, supra, 137 N.J. at 489-92, 645 A. 2d 734 (holding that clear language of verdict sheet cured potentially misleading nature of court's charge).