Opinion ID: 2682354
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Defense of Property Jury Instruction

Text: Farlee argues the district court erred in failing to give his proposed jury instructions on defense of property. “We generally review a district court’s refusal to provide a requested instruction for abuse of discretion.” United States v. Davis, 237 F.3d 942, 945 (8th Cir. 2001). “[A] party is entitled to an instruction on its theory of the case so long as it is legally correct and there is factual evidence to support it.” Thornton v. First State Bank of Joplin, 4 F.3d 650, 652 (8th Cir. 1993); see also Boesing v. Spiess, 540 F.3d 886, 890 (8th Cir. 2008). The instruction Farlee -5- requested was derived from South Dakota law, which, in certain circumstances, permits persons to use force or violence to protect property. Farlee contends the Assimilative Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. § 13, requires that the federal court borrow state law jury instructions where crimes allegedly occur on federal enclaves such as Indian reservations. See Lewis v. United States, 523 U.S. 155, 160 (1998). However, it is unnecessary for us to determine whether a defense of property instruction is authorized because such an instruction is not warranted by the evidence. South Dakota’s defense of property statute allows any person to use force or violence against another when the person reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to prevent or terminate the other person’s trespass on or other criminal interference with real property or personal property lawfully in his or her possession or in the possession of another who is a member of his or her immediate family or household or of a person whose property he or she has a legal right to protect. S.D. Codified Laws § 22-18-4. Farlee was in Oakie’s trailer when the altercation occurred. The trailer was not in Farlee’s possession, nor were Oakie and Farlee in the same family or household to justify his defense of property. Therefore, because the facts of this case do not support the defense of property instruction under South Dakota law, the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to give the instruction.