Opinion ID: 2149895
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Instruction on Erroneous Acquittal

Text: Over Griffin's objection, the trial court gave the following final instruction: If a defendant is innocent, he should not be convicted erroneously; but if a defendant is guilty, he should not be acquitted erroneously. By acquittal of the guilty, a contempt of the law is aroused among the criminal classes and the safeguards of society are weakened. Griffin argues that this instruction is unnecessary and irrelevant to the truth-seeking process because it distracts the jury from its sole duty which is the determination of guilt. In addition, argues Griffin, the instruction plays to the jury's fears, appeals to their prejudices, and seeks to incite an unjustified paranoia about the criminal classes referred to in the instruction. Griffin acknowledges that this Court has previously rejected such challenges to this and similar instructions. See, e.g., Murray v. State (1982), Ind., 442 N.E.2d 1012, 1021 (and cases cited therein) and, more recently, Timmons v. State (1992), Ind., 584 N.E.2d 1108, 1113. In both Murray and Timmons, this Court concluded that the instruction was not erroneous because the instruction was bracketed by instructions on the presumption of innocence and proof beyond a reasonable doubt. As in Murray and Timmons, the jury in this case was correctly instructed on the presumption of innocence and the burden of proof. At the same time, this instruction is a constant source of difficulty, both because it clouds the presumption of innocence and because it risks distracting the jury by its speculation on the sociological impact of erroneous verdicts. We have expressed reservation about the wording of this instruction, Rogers v. State (1989), Ind., 537 N.E.2d 481, 486, reh'g denied, and we have reviewed at least one case where one of our ablest trial court judges refused to give the instruction. Phillips v. State (1990), Ind., 550 N.E.2d 1290, 1302, reh'g denied. Given these difficulties and this history, we have concluded that this instruction has outlived its usefulness and disapprove it for future use.