Opinion ID: 1366491
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Trial Court's Refusal to Re-read Instructions to the Jury

Text: During jury deliberations, the jury sent a note to the judge asking whether both the prosecutor and the defense attorney, or just the prosecutor, decided not to call defendant to testify. Later, in chambers, the judge explained to counsel that he intended to answer the jury's question by saying, [p]lease rely on the jury instructions in answering this question. Neither counsel objected, and the judge gave this answer to the jury. The relevant jury instruction provided: The State must prove all of its case against the Defendant with its own evidence. The Defendant is not required to testify. The decision whether to testify is left to the Defendant acting with the advice of an attorney. You must not conclude that the Defendant is likely to be guilty because the Defendant does not testify. You must not let this choice affect your deliberations in any way. (Emphasis added.) The judge read this instruction to the jury when he initially instructed them; and pursuant to rule 22.2(b), Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure, he also provided the jury with a written copy of the instruction. Because defendant failed to object at trial, absent a finding of fundamental error, he waives the right to raise the issue on appeal. See, e.g., State v. Gendron, 168 Ariz. 153, 154, 812 P.2d 626, 627 (1991) (citations omitted). This court, in discussing fundamental error, has stated: Error is fundamental when it reaches the foundation of the case or takes from the defendant a right essential to his defense or is an error of such dimensions that it cannot be said it is possible for a defendant to have had a fair trial. State v. King, 158 Ariz. 419, 424, 763 P.2d 239, 244 (1988) (citations omitted). Defendant now claims that the judge should have re-read this instruction to the jury, and that the judge's response constituted fundamental error because the jury's question implicated defendant's Fifth Amendment right not to testify in his own defense. We disagree. We agree that when the jury appears to be confused about a legal issue, and the resolution of the question is not apparent from an earlier instruction, the trial judge has a `responsibility to give the jury the required guidance by a lucid statement of the relevant legal criteria.' Des Jardins v. State, 551 P.2d 181, 190 (Alaska 1976), quoting Bollenbach v. United States, 326 U.S. 607, 612-13, 66 S.Ct. 402, 405, 90 L.Ed. 350 (1946). In fact, rule 22.3, Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure, specifically provides for such an eventuality: After the jurors have retired to consider their verdict, ... if they or any party request additional instructions, the court may recall them to the courtroom and ... give appropriate additional instructions. (Emphasis added). The decision to further instruct a jury on a matter, however, is within the trial court's discretion. See rule 22.3, Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure (discretionary term used); State v. Dickey, 125 Ariz. 163, 170, 608 P.2d 302, 309 (1980) (discussing discretionary nature of rule 22.3); State v. Vaughn, 200 Or. 275, 265 P.2d 249, 250 (1954) (citations omitted). Thus, [w]hen a jury asks a judge about a matter on which it has received adequate instruction, the judge may in his or her discretion refuse to answer, or may refer the jury to the earlier instruction. Des Jardins, 551 P.2d at 190; see, e.g., State v. Hawkins, 165 Mont. 456, 529 P.2d 1377, 1379 (1975) (citations omitted). In this case, we find that the judge did not abuse his discretion when, in response to the jury's question, he referred the jury back to the written instructions that he had provided them when he originally instructed the jury. Defendant cites Bollenbach v. United States, 326 U.S. 607, 66 S.Ct. 402, 90 L.Ed. 350 (1946), and its progeny, in support of his argument. He argues that these cases stand for the proposition that jury questions should be clarified with concrete accuracy. See Bollenbach, 326 U.S. at 612-13, 66 S.Ct. at 405. We fail to see how Bollenbach and its progeny help defendant. In cases in which courts reversed a defendant's conviction, the courts did so because the original or supplemental instructions given were either inadequate or erroneous. See, e.g., Bollenbach, 326 U.S. at 613, 66 S.Ct. at 405 (supplemental instructions provided jury in response to question were simply wrong); United States v. Nunez, 889 F.2d 1564, 1569 (6th Cir.1989) (when asked whether law enforcement officer could be considered co-conspirator, judge merely re-read conspiracy instruction, which could have been interpreted by jury as yes; this was erroneous conclusion of law); Freeman v. State, 142 Ga. App. 293, 235 S.E.2d 560, 562 (1977) (conviction reversed when judge merely re-read burglary instruction in response to jury's question but failed to correct jury's erroneous belief that defendant could be guilty by association). In this case, defendant does not claim that the jury received an inadequate or incorrect instruction. He virtually concedes that the written instructions were correct because he claims only that the judge should have reread them and admonished the jury that it was improperly considering defendant's right not to testify. In this case, the judge complied with the dictates of Bollenbach by referring the jury back to the copies of the original instructions that it had received. The original instruction, in a clear and concise manner, not only answered the jury's question as to who decided that defendant would not testify, but it also advised the jury that its members were not to consider defendant's failure to testify in their deliberations. Moreover, defendant's fundamental error argument presumes that the jury improperly considered defendant's failure to testify because the judge did not re-read or reemphasize the relevant instruction in response to the jury's question. And, as we have repeatedly stated, there is no presumption that jurors will disobey instructions given them by the court. State v. Schad, 129 Ariz. 557, 568, 633 P.2d 366, 377 (1981), citing State v. Trujillo, 120 Ariz. 527, 531, 587 P.2d 246, 250 (1978). Once directed by the judge to re-read the instructions in its possession, the jury asked no further questions. Thus, absent some evidence to the contrary, we presume that the jury read and followed the relevant instruction. Based on these facts, we conclude that the trial judge did not abuse his discretion by referring the jury back to the written instructions provided. Thus, we find no basis for a finding of error, let alone fundamental error.