Opinion ID: 4509743
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: ¶1 Meagan Grunwald was convicted as an accomplice to the crime of aggravated murder. But the jury instruction that provided the basis for her conviction contained three errors: (1) it impermissibly permitted conviction based on a finding of recklessness, a less culpable mental state than is required by statute, (2) it impermissibly permitted conviction based on intentional aid that was not directly connected to the murder, and (3) it impermissibly permitted conviction based on a finding that Ms. Grunwald knew that the principal actor’s conduct was reasonably certain to result in aggravated murder, rather than on the finding that she knowingly committed the actus reus to help the principal actor in committing the murder. We must determine whether any of these errors, or a combination of them, caused a reasonable probability of an unfair conviction. In other words, we must determine whether, in the absence of these errors, there is a reasonable probability the jury would have arrived at a different result. ¶2 The court of appeals considered this question and determined there was no such probability. Accordingly, that court affirmed Ms. Grunwald’s conviction. Now Ms. Grunwald asks us to reverse the decision of the court of appeals because, in her view, the court failed to properly consider all of the evidence presented to the jury and misconstrued some of the legal requirements of accomplice liability. Because it is reasonably probable that the jury would not have convicted Ms. Grunwald of aggravated murder absent the jury instruction errors, we reverse her conviction and remand for a new trial with correct jury instructions.