Court Opinion

ID: 9591611
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 00:05:58.285784+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:03:16.868600
License: Public Domain

Deen, Presiding Judge,
concurring specially. Generally I concur with most of what is said in the majority opinion, and specifically agree with Divisions 1, 2, 4 and 5 and in the judgment of conviction. It appears that two different views have been expressed regarding when the trial judge should instruct the jury with respect to Division 3. It might be appropriate to articulate and advance a slightly differing third viewpoint in this important area.
OCGA § 5-5-24 (b) (Code Ann. § 70-207) requires that the main or comprehensive charge to the jury be given after the arguments are completed. The cases cited in the majority opinion and in the other concurring opinion, do not prohibit the trial judge from informing, instructing, or giving helpful explanations to the jury at other times as the case progresses as long as they are in addition to and not in lieu of the comprehensive charge required by statute.
An informative article, “Why the Jury Doesn’t Understand the Judge’s Instructions,” by Charles L. Weltner, now Justice Weltner of the Supreme Court of Georgia, The Judges’ Journal, Vol. 17, p. 19, Fall 1978, advances some scholarly suggestions based on an actual juror’s convocation input as to how a trial judge may aid and assist the jury. Part of that article based on the juror convocation states: “I hold a dream of having charges on all basic principles of law in a computer, with instantaneous printout. Hence, I can tell the jury that I am going to read the charge to them, but they will have a written copy of it and may refer to it as often as they like during their deliberations.” With word processors and computers now available and more in use by courts, this dream may possibly in the future become a reality. As long as the statutory mandate as to the giving of the comprehensive charge is complied with, a trial judge, in my opinion, has implied if not inherent power to provide additional, meaningful explanations as to the duty of the jury relating to applicable legal principles.