Opinion ID: 2365387
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Right of Allocution Instruction

Text: During the penalty phase, defendant chose to have her attorney read her statement in allocution to the jury instead of reading the statement herself. When the jury inquired during deliberations whether defendant was permitted to read her statement herself, the judge, over defense counsel's objection, answered that she could have read the statement. Specifically, the trial court stated: Was Leslie allowed to read the impact statement herself? The answer to that is, yes, she is allowed to read the impact statement herself. However, she requested [defense counsel] to do it for her. Now who reads the impact statement is really not a matter which should enter into your deliberations or considerations in any way but you may consider the substance of the statement and aside from that the manner in [sic] how it was presented to you really shouldn't concern you and shouldn't be a factor in your deliberations. Defendant now asserts that the trial judge compromised the exercise of her right to allocution in the way it answered the jury's question. According to defendant, the trial court should not have made any reference to the fact that defendant could have personally given the allocution. Instead, the court should have responded with the following: The manner in which Miss Nelson's statement was presented to the jury is a matter of court procedure with which you should not be concerned and it should not play any part in your deliberations. Although the right to make a statement in allocution is not constitutionally guaranteed, the right of a capital defendant to allocution has been firmly established. State v. Bey, 161 N.J. 233, 275, 736 A. 2d 469 (1999); State v. Zola, 112 N.J. 384, 429-30, 548 A. 2d 1022 (1988). The purpose of allocution is to allow a defendant the opportunity to express remorse; it is a proper function of the jury to assess that remorse. State v. DiFrisco, 137 N.J. 434, 478-79, 645 A. 2d 734 (1994). Nevertheless, a trial court has discretion in addressing issues relating to allocution. State v. Loftin, 146 N.J. 295, 363, 680 A. 2d 677 (1996); DiFrisco, supra, 137 N.J. at 479, 645 A. 2d 734. We agree that the trial court's instruction may have negatively impacted defendant when the court informed the jury that defendant was permitted to read her allocution statement but chose not to do so. It may well have been that defendant believed that personally addressing the jury would not have received a sympathetic eye or ear. The instruction may have conveyed the implication that defendant was reluctant to present herself personally, was unwilling to speak to the jury and accept responsibility for her action, or otherwise had something to conceal. A purpose of the allocution statement is to allow the jury to hear a defendant express remorse in his or her own voice. State v. DiFrisco, 137 N.J. 434, 478, 645 A. 2d 734 (1994); State v. Zola, 112 N.J. 384, 428-431, 548 A. 2d 1022 (1988) (citing Green v. United States, 365 U.S. 301, 81 S.Ct. 653, 5 L.Ed. 2d 670 (1961) (Frankfurter, J., plurality opinion)). According to that purpose, the manner in which the statement is presented is usually pertinent to jurors' deliberations. Here, however, because of the unusual circumstances regarding defendant's appearance and her particular problems with social interaction, perhaps it was appropriate for the trial court to take the measures necessary to have the jury not consider that defendant chose to have her attorney read her statement. Nevertheless, regardless of the potential impact of informing the jury that defendant could have read her statement, we are satisfied with the court's instruction to the jury that it should not consider who gave the allocution statement. The court instructed the jury to consider the statement's content only. Because we presume the jury followed that instruction, State v. Manley, 54 N.J. 259, 270, 255 A. 2d 193 (1969), we do not find error.