Opinion ID: 2183372
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Settling on Instructions

Text: Brooks alleges error in the procedure followed by the court in the tendering and settling of final instructions. At the State's request, the court granted the parties leave to file more than ten final instructions. Defendant argues that the court did not follow the correct procedure in doing so, with prejudice resulting from the excessive number of intructions filed by the State and the lack of preparation time allowed for him to file additional instructions. Brooks further challenges the court's failure to hear objections to final instructions until after the jury had retired for deliberations. The giving of instructions is within the discretion of the trial court; its decision will be overturned only on a showing of abuse of that discretion. Tanner v. State (1984), Ind., 471 N.E.2d 665, 667. Criminal Rule 8(A) establishes the number of final instructions tendered by the parties at ten, but allows the trial court, in its discretion, to fix a greater number, which number shall be stated of record by an order book entry made by the court. On the afternoon of April 3, the parties were informed that they would be expected to tender their proposed final instructions the next morning. At that time, the State requested permission to file more than ten instructions. The court granted this request. Though the defendant later alleged surprise at the ruling of the court, it appears from the record that defense counsel was present at the time the ruling was made, though he was conferring with a member of his staff. The State tendered forty instructions. The next day, during a conference to settle on final instructions, the defendant objected to the number of instructions filed by the State and pointed out to the court that an order book entry should reflect that the court had fixed a greater number than ten. The court then made an order book entry reflecting its earlier ruling and offered defense counsel a continuance to draft any other instructions he felt necessary. Counsel replied that he really did not want any instructions other than those already tendered; he merely objected to the State's additional instructions. However, because the State was allowed additional instructions, he requested a continuance of one day to draft additional instructions of his own. The court denied this request and granted a continuance of ninety minutes. Following this continuance, the defense tendered additional instructions. Appellant contends that this procedure resulted in saturating the defense with too many instructions to consider properly; he also argues that a ninety-minute continuance was an unreasonable time in which to draft thirty additional final instructions. The result, he says, was that the jury received repetitive, irrelevant, and confusing instructions. Reviewing the instructions as given, we do not find them to be misleading or particularly confusing. Appellant has not mentioned any particular instruction that he was unable to tender, nor has he shown any prejudice in the instructions as given. Though we do not approve of the State's practice of inundating the defense, and the court, with repetitive, unnecessary instructions, these instructions did not reach the jury. The court rejected nearly three-quarters of the State's tendered instructions. Absent a showing of prejudice, no error will be found. Mingle v. State (1979), 182 Ind. App. 653, 658, 396 N.E.2d 399, 404. Appellant also argues that he was not allowed the opportunity to object to final instructions before the jury retired for deliberations. Criminal Rule 8(B) requires that each party have a reasonable time to object to instructions before argument. We find that such an opportunity was afforded. The court informed the parties that, in the interest of time, a record would be made of objections to final instructions after the jury had retired. However, proposed instructions were submitted to the parties and oral objections were entertained prior to argument. The court merely requested that detailed objections intended to preserve the record for appellate review be reserved and that only glaring errors be pointed out before the instructions were submitted to the jury. Though appellant points out the potential danger of discovering an error in instructions after the jury has retired, no such harm occurred here. Defendant did object to the failure to instruct on lesser included offenses and the number of instructions submitted by the State prior to argument. These are the only errors he argues on appeal. He does not point to any objection that he was foreclosed from making. The parties were afforded an adequate opportunity to object to instructions prior to argument, and defendant did not suffer any prejudice from deferring more specific objection until after the jury retired.