Opinion ID: 2244925
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Alleged fundamental error in the attempted murder instruction.

Text: In Spradlin v. State, we held that an instruction which purports to set forth the elements which must be proven in order to convict of the crime of attempted murder must inform the jury that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, with intent to kill the victim, engaged in conduct which was a substantial step toward such killing. 569 N.E.2d 948, 950 (Ind.1991). Defendant was charged with and found guilty of the attempted murder of Damon Nunn. Nunn, though seriously injured, survived being struck by the bullets fired into McCloud's vehicle. In this case, the trial court's instructions included the statutory definitions for Murder and Attempt but failed to include the required language from Spradlin regarding a specific intent to kill the victim. Defendant's counsel did not object to the court's instructions governing the attempted murder count, thus waiving any allegation of error. Ind.Trial Rule 51(C); Ind. Criminal Rule 8; Blackmon v. State, 455 N.E.2d 586, 589-90 (Ind.1983). Nevertheless, defendant would have this Court treat the failure of the trial court to comply with the requirements of Spradlin as a fundamental error so profound as to not require a contemporaneous objection. However, as we stated in Swallows v. State, [I]n cases on direct appeal where intent is not in issue, instructions which fail to advise the jury that specific intent to kill is required to convict a defendant of attempted murder do not necessarily constitute fundamental error. 674 N.E.2d 1317, 1318 (Ind.1996). In this case, there was no evidentiary dispute about the issue of intent. Defendant's defense was that someone else did the shooting while he was in Indianapolis at a party. The issue in this case was identity of the shooter, not intent. Therefore, there was no fundamental error in the lack of a specific intent component in the instructions to the jury regarding the crime of attempted murder. Id.