Opinion ID: 1057949
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Jury instructions regarding mental state

Text: R. Vaughn argues that Sindle was ineffective by failing to object to the jury instructions on the definition of knowingly with respect to the second degree murder charge. The trial court instructed the jury: For you to find the defendant guilty of this offense [of second degree murder] the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the following essential elements: 1. That the Defendant unlawfully killed the alleged victim; and 2. That the Defendant acted knowingly. Knowingly means that a person acts knowingly with respect to the conduct or the circumstances surrounding the conduct when the person is aware of the nature of the conduct or that the circumstances exist. A person acts knowingly with respect to the result of the person's conduct when the person is aware that the conduct is reasonably certain to cause the result. R. Vaughn relies on State v. Keith T. Dupree, No. W1999-01019-CCA-R3-CD, 2001 WL 91794 (Tenn.Crim.App. Jan. 30, 2001), and State v. Page, 81 S.W.3d 781 (Tenn.Crim.App.2002). In Page , the Court of Criminal Appeals interpreted the definition of knowingly, holding that second degree murder is strictly a result of conduct offense, and a jury instruction allowing a jury to convict based only upon awareness of the nature of the conduct or circumstances surrounding the conduct improperly lessened the State's burden of proof. 81 S.W.3d at 788. Page was decided six years after R. Vaughn's trial. We agree with the post-conviction court that Sindle cannot be held ineffective for failing to anticipate Court of Criminal Appeals' holding with regard to the jury charge on the mens rea of knowingly. Moreover, in State v. Faulkner, 154 S.W.3d 48, 59 (Tenn.2005), this Court limited the holding in Page , concluding that [t]he superfluous language in the `knowingly' definition did not lessen the burden of proof because it did not relieve the State of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant acted knowingly.