Opinion ID: 1661690
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether Substantial Compliance Occurred

Text: The state contends that the judge's instructions on reasonable doubt, when read as a whole, substantially comply with the intent of C.Cr.P. 804. Reliance is placed on State v. Henderson, 362 So.2d 1358 (La. 1978). In that case, the defense's request that C.Cr.P. 804 be read to the jury was denied on the ground that the matter was covered in the general charge. This court found that the general charge did not convey the substance of 804 in a straightforward manner. However, the judge had informed the jury that reasonable doubt could be based upon unsatisfactory evidence, and that the jurors were to determine which facts were not proven. Although this charge was found to be less clear and less direct than the statutory language, we held that ... the instructions given by the trial court substantially complied with the legislative intent of Article 804.... Id. at 1366. Our holding was qualified by the following caveat: ... Our approval of the trial court's formulation, however, is limited to the particular charge given within the context of the particular instant case. It would have been preferable for the trial court to have read the exact language of Article 804 to the jury, and future use of the general charge used in the instant case could easily result in reversible error. See, State v. Gibbs, 355 So.2d 1299 (La. 1978). Id. The state correctly points out that the instant charge, when read as a whole, includes the same statements reluctantly labeled substantial compliance in Henderson. The trial in the instant case occurred a full seven months after Henderson announced our dissatisfaction with unclear and indirect interpretations of C.Cr.P. 804. Our caveat in Henderson has been unheeded, and we decline to sanction jury instructions which substitute misleading and unclear statements for the direct statutory language of C.Cr.P. 804. A correct understanding of reasonable doubt is essential in every criminal jury trial. A vital part of that definition is the statutory formulation of C.Cr.P. 804 reasonable doubt may arise out of the lack of evidence in the case. This concept is best explained by the exact wording of the statute. Its essential ingredients are not supplied by jury instructions which merely hint at the idea embodied in the statute. In Henderson we stated that a reading of the exact language of C.Cr.P. 804 would have been preferable; today we hold such a reading to be mandatory. For the reasons assigned, the conviction and sentence are reversed, and the cause remanded to the district court for a new trial. BLANCHE, J., dissents with reasons. MARCUS, J., dissents and assigns reasons. WATSON, J., dissents for reasons assigned by MARCUS, J.