IN RE: STANDARD JURY INSTRUCTIONS IN CRIMINAL CASES—REPORT 2019-04. (2019)

The Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases (Committee) has submitted proposed changes to the standard jury instructions and asks that the Court authorize new and amended standard instructions. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.

The Committee proposes amending standard criminal jury instructions 10.7(a) (Throwing, Making, Placing, Projecting, or Discharging Destructive Device), 10.7(b) (Throwing, Making, Placing, Projecting, or Discharging Destructive Device), 10.7(c) (Throwing, Making, Placing, Projecting, or Discharging Destructive Device), and 10.13 (Shooting or Throwing [A Missile] [Stone] [Hard Substance] [At] [Within] [Into] [In] a[n] [Building] [Vehicle] [Vessel] [Aircraft]). All of the proposals were published in The Florida Bar News. No comments were received by the Committee. After the Committee filed its report, the Court did not publish the proposals for comment.

Having considered the Committee's report, we authorize for publication and use standard jury instructions 10.7(a), 10.7(b), 10.7(c), and 10.13. We discuss the more significant amendments below.

First, the definition of “willfully” is added in instructions 10.7(a), 10.7(b), and 10.7(c) to define the term as “intentionally, knowingly, and purposely,” which tracks other standard jury instructions defining the term. See, e.g., Fla. Std. Jury Instr. (Crim.) 10.7(d) (Possessing, Throwing, Making, Placing, Projecting, or Discharging a Destructive Device Resulting in Death).

Next, the titles of instructions 10.7(a), 10.7(b), and 10.7(c) are amended to include “possessing” to track section 790.161, Florida Statutes (2018), and the concept of “possession,” as authorized in In re Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases—Report 2017-03, 238 So. 3d 182 (Fla. 2018), is also added to instructions 10.7(a), 10.7(b), and 10.7(c).

In instruction 10.7(b), “person” is added in element 2a and “another person” is substituted for “(victim)” in element 2b to track the applicable statutory provisions. See § 790.161(2), Fla. Stat. (2018).

Instruction 10.7(c) is amended to add “(Defendant)” to element one and “person” to element two to better tie the elements together and track the language of section 790.161(3), Florida Statutes (2018).

Finally, instruction 10.13 is amended to include “shot a firearm that would produce death or great bodily harm” as an optional element based upon case law interpreting section 790.19, Florida Statutes (2018). See Valdes v. State, 3 So. 3d 1067 (Fla. 2009); Jefferson v. State, 927 So. 2d 1037 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006); Horn v. State, 677 So. 2d 320 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996), Jones v. Singletary, 621 So. 2d 760 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993). A comment is added by the Committee that addresses the use of a firearm as an element of the offense as it relates to section 775.087(1) and (2), Florida Statutes (2018), which deal with reclassification and sentencing guidelines. Instruction 10.13 also is amended to include definitions of “firearm” and “great bodily harm” as authorized in In re Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases - Report 2018-14, 267 So. 3d 980 (Fla. 2019).

The amended criminal jury instructions, as set forth in the appendix to this opinion, are hereby authorized for publication and use.¹ New language is indicated by underlining, and deleted language is indicated by struck-through type. In authorizing the publication and use of these instructions, we express no opinion on their correctness and remind all interested parties that this authorization forecloses neither requesting additional or alternative instructions nor contesting the legal correctness of the instructions. We further caution all interested parties that any comments associated with the instructions reflect only the opinion of the Committee and are not necessarily indicative of the views of this Court as to their correctness or applicability. The instructions as set forth in the appendix shall be effective when this opinion becomes final.

It is so ordered.

APPENDIX

FOOTNOTES

1.   The amendments as reflected in the appendix are to the Criminal Jury Instructions as they appear on the Court's website at www.floridasupremecourt.org/jury_instructions/instructions.shtml. We recognize that there may be minor discrepancies between the instructions as they appear on the website and the published versions of the instructions. Any discrepancies as to instructions authorized for publication and use after October 25, 2007, should be resolved by reference to the published opinion of this Court authorizing the instruction.

PER CURIAM.

CANADY, C.J., and POLSTON, LABARGA, LAWSON, and MUÑIZ, JJ., concur.