Opinion ID: 1816990
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Pattern of Domestic Abuse

Text: Cross also assigns as error the trial court's failure to instruct the jury that each incident offered to prove the past pattern of domestic abuse must itself be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. At the close of trial, the trial court gave the jury the following instruction on the elements of the offense of domestic abuse homicide: The elements of murder in the first degree are: First the death of Heidi Rae Haines must be proven; Second the death of Heidi Rae Haines occurred while Defendant was committing domestic abuse as I have just defined it to you; Third Defendant engaged in a past pattern of domestic abuse upon Heidi Rae Haines; Fourth the death of Heidi Rae Haines occurred under circumstances which manifested an extreme indifference to human life; Fifth Defendant's acts took place on June 28, 1996, in Hennepin County. If you find that each of these five elements has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt Defendant is guilty of murder in the first degree. If you find that any of these elements has not been so proven Defendant is not guilty. In defining domestic abuse, the court charged the jury that: Domestic abuse is defined as committing any of the following offenses against a family or household member. Family or household members are persons who are presently residing together or have resided together in the past or persons involved in a significant romantic or sexual relationship. The judge then instructed the jury as to the elements of each of the offenses of domestic abuse on which the state had offered evidence: first degree assault, third degree assault, and fifth degree assault, within the meaning of Minn.Stat. §§ 609.221-2242; and terroristic threats, within the meaning of Minn.Stat. § 609.713. No instruction was given, or requested, on past pattern of domestic abuse. A defendant's failure to propose specific jury instructions or to object to instructions before they are given to the jury generally constitutes a waiver of the right to appeal. State v. LaForge, 347 N.W.2d 247, 251 (Minn.1984). Nevertheless, a failure to object will not cause an appeal to fail if the instructions contain plain error affecting substantial rights or an error of fundamental law. State v. Malaski, 330 N.W.2d 447, 451 (Minn.1983). Therefore, we review Cross' claims for plain errors affecting substantial rights or errors in fundamental law. On appellate review, it is well settled that the court's charge to the jury must be read as a whole, and if, when that is done, it correctly states the law in language that can be understood by the jury there is no reversible error. State v. Anderson, 261 Minn. 431, 435, 113 N.W.2d 4, 7 (1962). Due process requires that every element of the offense charged must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt by the prosecution. Auchampach, 540 N.W.2d at 816. Cross claims that the court committed an error in fundamental law by not instructing the jury that, in order to find that the state had proven a past pattern of domestic abuse beyond a reasonable doubt, the jury must conclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Cross committed each of the acts offered as proof of the pattern. In essence, Cross asserts that each underlying act offered as evidence of the past pattern of domestic abuse is itself a separate element of the crime of domestic abuse homicide, requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Put simply, Cross ignores the plain language of the statute, which requires proof only that the murder occurred during an act of domestic abuse, that the perpetrator has engaged in a past pattern of domestic abuse, and that the circumstances of the killing manifest an extreme indifference to human life. See Minn.Stat. § 609.185(6). The statute does not require proof of a pattern of domestic abuse convictions, or specify a minimum number of incidents which must be proven in order to find a pattern, or specify that proof beyond a reasonable doubt is required as to the underlying acts. In our view, the statute reflects a recognition of the unique characteristics of domestic abuse. In addition to the hidden nature of domestic violence, much of which occurs in the privacy of the home, with only the perpetrator and victim as witnesses, domestic abuse offenses are also among the most underreported crimes in America. Joseph Biden, The Violence Against Women Act of 1991, S.Rep. No. 102-197, at 38 (1991). For a host of reasons  including fear of retaliation and the lingering stigma of    violence in the home  vast numbers of these crimes are left unreported to police or other authorities. Both literally and figuratively, these crimes remain hidden from public view. Id. In drafting the domestic abuse homicide statute, the legislature apparently recognized the unusual proof problems inherent in prosecution of this type of crime. In the absence of clear statutory direction, requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt as to each of the acts constituting the past pattern of domestic abuse would, in our view, create an unnecessarily heavy burden on the state. It is legally sufficient for the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt all elements of the domestic abuse homicide statute, including that defendant engaged in a past pattern of domestic abuse. Here, we conclude that the jury instructions requiring the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant had engaged in a past pattern of domestic abuse adequately set forth the law governing the domestic abuse homicide charge against Cross. [3] In the absence of any error, we affirm the convictions. Affirmed.