Opinion ID: 1060568
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Failure to instruct on material element

Text: It is the trial court's duty to give a complete charge of the law applicable to the facts of the case. See State v. Harris, 839 S.W.2d 54, 73 (Tenn.1992); State v. Thompson, 519 S.W.2d 789, 792 (Tenn.1975). The Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the United States Constitution require criminal convictions to rest upon a jury determination that the defendant is guilty of every element of the crime with which he is charged, beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Gaudin, 515 U.S. 506, 509, 115 S.Ct. 2310, 2313, 132 L.Ed.2d 444 (1995). We conclude that the statutory provision regarding the age of the victim is an essential element of the Class A felony of aggravated child abuse. We also hold that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury that it must find beyond a reasonable doubt that the victims were six years of age or less. We shall next consider whether this error is subject to harmless error analysis.