Court Opinion

ID: 9624873
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 07:20:07.98228+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:05:56.094823
License: Public Domain

BRYNER, Chief Judge,
concurring.
I agree in large part with the conclusions reached in Judge Singleton’s opinion. Specifically, in the context of this case, I would conclude that Jury Instruction No. 16 was not plain error, that it was not error for the trial court to instruct the jury on the verdict of “guilty but mentally ill” (GBMI) under AS 12.47.030, that Barrett’s constitutional challenges to the GBMI provision lack merit, and that any error in failing to instruct on a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity under AS 12.47.010 was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Likewise, I would agree with Judge Singleton that a lesser-included offense instruction on the crime of unlawful evasion was not warranted in this case. Finally, I agree that, when the jury returns a verdict of GBMI and thereby unanimously concludes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant’s conduct was significantly influenced by a mental disease or defect, the superior court is bound by the jury’s determination and cannot impose a sentence based on the independent factual determination that the defendant’s conduct was not influenced by a mental disease or defect. For these reasons, I concur in the result reached by Judge Singleton.
I nevertheless feel compelled to add that I have serious reservations concerning the constitutionality of AS 12.47.020, which deals with the defense of diminished capacity. In my view, there is a substantial question whether the state may legitimately require the entry of any verdict other than the traditional verdict of not guilty in a case where the state is incapable — for whatever reason — of proving all of the ele*576ments of an offense. I emphasize that I do not agree with Judge Singleton’s opinion to the extent that it suggests that the jury may properly be required to return a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity when the state is incapable of proving the defendant’s culpable mental state due to evidence of a mental disease or defect. Resolution of this issue is unnecessary in the present case, because the jury’s verdict clearly establishes that Barrett’s mental disease or defect did not preclude him from acting knowingly.