Opinion ID: 2089125
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: trial court error jury instructions

Text: Appellant next argues that the trial court erred in denying appellant's request for a jury instruction on heat of passion voluntary manslaughter. However, a heat of passion instruction is only warranted where the evidence would support a verdict based on voluntary manslaughter. Commonwealth v. Browdie, 543 Pa. 337, 349-50, 671 A.2d 668, 674 (1996) (a trial court shall only instruct on heat of passion voluntary manslaughter, or any other offense, where the offense has been made an issue in the case and where the trial evidence reasonably would support such a verdict). As appellant concedes in his appellate brief, the evidence in the instant case would not have supported such a verdict. [13] Under the Crimes Code, a person is guilty of voluntary manslaughter if at the time of the killing he acted under a sudden and intense passion resulting from serious provocation by the victim. 18 Pa.C.S. § 2503(a); Commonwealth v. Walker, 540 Pa. 80, 91, 656 A.2d 90, 95, cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 116 S.Ct. 156, 133 L.Ed.2d 100 (1995). Heat of passion includes emotions such as anger, rage, sudden resentment or terror, which renders the mind incapable of reason. Commonwealth v. Harris, 472 Pa. 406, 408, 372 A.2d 757, 758-59 (1977). In the instant case, no evidence was presented that appellant or his co-conspirators were acting under heat of passion or that the killing was the result of a serious provocation from any of the victims. To the contrary, the evidence was that appellant and his cohorts approached a group of unarmed men standing on a public street corner and began firing a hail of bullets at them. Moreover, such an instruction would have been inconsistent with appellant's defense that he was merely present. Therefore, the trial court did not err in declining to instruct the jury on heat of passion voluntary manslaughter. Appellant also argues that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to submit a written request for this jury instruction. However, the argument on this issue is not developed in appellant's brief. Nevertheless, because appellant was not entitled to the instruction, he was not prejudiced by counsel's failure to submit a request in writing. Commonwealth v. Rainey, 540 Pa. 220, 235, 656 A.2d 1326, 1334, cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 116 S.Ct. 562, 133 L.Ed.2d 488 (1995) (counsel cannot be ineffective for failing to request an unwarranted jury instruction). Therefore, this issue is meritless.