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3RD DCA ROUNDUP -MURDER MOST FOUL EDITION

By "Captain Liberty" and "Rumpole"

We start our 3rd DCA roundup with a case that has a conundrum: What do you do when the jury instruction for a lesser has a higher standard of proof then the jury instruction for the charged crime? If you're the 3rd, you wince and certify a conflict. Leggett v. State: Here's the problem: the jury instruction for second degree murder does not require the state to prove the defendant had the intent to cause the death of the deceased. In this case the jury was also instructed on lesser included crime- intentional manslaughter. That instruction requires the jury that before they can find the defendant guilty the state must have proven that the defendant had a premeditated intent to cause the death of the deceased. Quite the conundrum. The second DCA in Zeigler v...continue to full post

Full post as published by Justice Building Blog on March 11, 2010 (boomark / email).