Court Opinion

ID: 9884815
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-06 03:15:39.116819+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:48:40.950529
License: Public Domain

MR. JUSTICE RYAN, also dissenting: I cannot concur in the reversal of this conviction based on the giving and the failure to give the instructions set forth in the opinion of the court. As to defendant’s instructions No. 6 and No. 7 which the trial court did not give, in reading the transcript of the conference on instructions I must conclude that defendant’s counsel had withdrawn both of these instructions. After objections were made by the prosecutor to defendant’s instruction No. 6, defense counsel said that he would “drop 6” and the court stated “he withdrew that.” Then the court and the attorneys considered defendant’s instruction No. 7 and objection was made to it. The prosecutor then suggested that defense counsel give “the instruction on that statute.” Defense counsel said that he would “go for that” and that he would get one typed up. After further discussion the court inquired what defense counsel wanted to do with the instruction that they were considering and counsel said “mark it refused.” It hardly seems appropriate now, many years later, for new counsel, in going through the record, to single out these two instructions as a basis for reversal. Both of these instructions had been withdrawn from the consideration of the court by counsel for the defendant. As to the defendant’s instruction No. 8 which the opinion of this court finds does not properly state the law, the same is an instruction tendered by and given at the request of the defendant. If it was error to give this instruction then it was error induced by the defendant and should not now be used as a reason for reversal. An accused cannot complain of defect in instructions which were given at his request. People v. Riley, 31 Ill.2d 490; People v. Beil, 322 Ill. 434; People v. Fox, 319 Ill. 606. The fourth instruction considered as defective by the opinion of this court is the State’s instruction No. 11 which concerns the presumption of sanity. This instruction was criticized in People v. Munroe, 15 Ill. 2d 91. In that case, however, there were other instructions which were held to be erroneous, all of which combined caused the court to reverse and remand. Also in that case the defendant had objected to the giving of the instruction on the presumption of sanity. In our case it appears that no objection was made by defense counsel to the giving of this instruction. Rule 25 of this court then in effect (7 Ill.2d 44) provided that in criminal cases instructions to the jury shall be settled and given in accordance with section 67 of the Civil Practice Act, but substantial defects are not waived by failure to make timely objections thereto if the interests of justice require. This court has held in many cases that one who fails to object to the giving of an instruction in a criminal case waives defects in the instructions which are not substantial. People v. Lyons, 36 Ill.2d 336; People v. Cavaness, 21 Ill.2d 46; People v. Clements, 28 Ill.2d 534; People v. Minor, 20 Ill. 2d 496; People v. Pizzo, 362 Ill. 194. The provisions of then Rule 25, now incorporated in Rule 451(c) (Ill.Rev.Stat. 1971, ch. 110A, par. 451(c)), places upon one who seeks in the reviewing court to avoid a waiver for failure to make specific objections to an instruction the burden of establishing: (a) that the defects in the instruction are substantial, and (b) that the giving of the instruction resulted in denying to the defendant justice and a fair trial. (See People v. Price, 96 Ill.App.2d 86, 95; People v. Knox, 116 Ill.App.2d 427, 434.) The mere giving of an instruction which has been criticized as “extremely likely to mislead” (People v. Munroe), without objection, is not sufficient to warrant a reversal of a conviction in the absence of some showing by the defendant of prejudice resulting therefrom. The opinion of the court does not find that State’s instruction No. 11 was substantially defective or that the interests of justice require that the defects therein not be waived. Likewise, defendant does not now so contend. Defendant now only complains that this instruction does not correctly inform the jury as to the burden of proof on the question of insanity, contending that defendant’s instruction No. 6 was necessary to supplement this instruction and properly instruct the jury on this question. This leads us back to the beginning of this dissent where it was demonstrated that the reason defendant’s instruction No. 6 was not given was that defendant’s counsel had withdrawn this instruction from the consideration of the court. It thus appears from the defendant’s contention, not that the defendant was prejudiced by the giving of the unobjected-to State’s instruction No. 11, but that the jury was not properly instructed on the question of burden of proof as to insanity because the defendant had withdrawn his instructions on that question. For these reasons I cannot concur in the reversal of this conviction.