Opinion ID: 1168327
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: does state v. williams have retroactive application?

Text: Defendant brought this action under Rule 32, which allows a defendant to seek post-conviction relief when: g. There has been a significant change in the law applied in the process which led to the petitioner's conviction or sentence, and there are sufficient reasons to allow retroactive application of the changed legal standard. Ariz.R.Crim.P. 32.1(g), 17 A.R.S. Here, a significant change in the law has occurred. However, not all significant changes in the law that lead to a defendant's conviction will result in relief under Rule 32. Only when sufficient reasons exist for retroactive application may a defendant prevail. Fundamental error is one of those reasons. We have held that an instruction that does not correctly instruct the jury as to the state's burden of proof constitutes fundamental error. State v. Hunter, 142 Ariz. 88, 688 P.2d 980 (1984). As we noted in Williams: Where the effect of the incorrect instruction lessens the state's burden of proof, the error is harmful. See State v. Walker, 138 Ariz. 491, 675 P.2d 1310 (1984) (arson); State v. Noriega, 144 Ariz. 258, 697 P.2d 341 (App. 1985) (trafficking in stolen property); State v. O'Brien, 123 Ariz. 578, 601 P.2d 341 (App. 1979) (conspiracy); State v. Cappe, 122 Ariz. 249, 594 P.2d 115 (App. 1979) (assault with a deadly weapon); State v. Goodman, 22 Ariz. App. 275, 526 P.2d 1073 (1974) (grand theft by false pretenses). 154 Ariz. at 368, 742 P.2d at 1354. We believe the instruction in the instant case was not only erroneous but also fundamental error because it lessened the state's burden of proof as to first degree burglary. Because we cannot say that the jury would have, beyond a reasonable doubt, found the defendant guilty of first degree burglary without the incorrect instruction, the error was not harmless. State v. Zaragoza, 135 Ariz. 63, 659 P.2d 22, cert. denied, 462 U.S. 1124, 103 S.Ct. 3097, 77 L.Ed.2d 1356 (1983). See also State v. Garcia, 152 Ariz. 245, 248, 731 P.2d 610, 613 (1987) (quoting State v. Gerlaugh, 144 Ariz. 449, 698 P.2d 694 (1985)). We also believe that Williams must apply retroactively because the giving of the erroneous instruction raises the very real possibility that the defendant was convicted of a crime he did not commit. As the United States Supreme Court has stated: Where the major purpose of new constitutional doctrine is to overcome an aspect of the criminal trial that substantially impairs its truth-finding function and so raises serious questions about the accuracy of guilty verdicts in past trials, the new rule has been given complete retroactive effect. Neither good-faith reliance by state or federal authorities on prior constitutional law or accepted practice, nor severe impact on the administration of justice has sufficed to require prospective application in these circumstances. Williams v. United States, 401 U.S. 646, 653, 91 S.Ct. 1148, 1152, 28 L.Ed.2d 388 (1971). While our decision is not a new rule of procedure or construction but, rather, a corrected definition of the crime, the Supreme Court's rationale nonetheless applies. Use of an instruction that incorrectly defines the elements of the crime threatens the accuracy of the verdict, and complete retroactive effect is the only method of protecting the integrity of the process.