In re Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases-Rreport No. 2012-08
131 So. 3d 692
| Fla. | 2013Background
- The Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases submitted proposed amendments to several existing Florida criminal jury instructions and proposed new instructions; the Court has jurisdiction under art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.
- The Committee’s report (filed Dec. 27, 2012) follows publication and solicitation of comment; one comment addressed reckless driving and aggravated fleeing/eluding but the Committee declined to change its proposals.
- The Court authorized the Committee’s proposed amendments and new instructions for publication and use, with limited modifications noted in the opinion.
- Key amendments include: splitting reckless driving into traditional (§316.192(1)(a)) and per se fleeing-based reckless driving (§316.192(1)(b)); adding and revising statutory definitions (e.g., motor vehicle, serious bodily injury, highway, fleeing a law enforcement officer); correcting statutory citations across driving-license instructions; and adding attempt to lesser-included offense tables.
- Instruction 28.13 (refusal to submit to testing) was amended to require the arrest be “lawful,” add “swamp buggy” to the motor-vehicle definition, add attempt as a lesser-included offense, and include a comment that a special instruction may be warranted when lawfulness of the arrest is contested.
- New instructions authorized include elder/disabled adult abuse, aggravated abuse, neglect, massage-establishment document failures, human trafficking, and human trafficking by a parent/guardian; the Court revised the Committee’s proposed definition of “maliciously” in the aggravated-abuse instruction.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether to adopt Committee’s revised and new standard jury instructions | Committee: adopt as proposed to reflect statutory changes and clarify elements/definitions | Commenter: urged change on reckless driving/aggravated fleeing proposals (Committee declined) | Court authorized the proposed amendments and new instructions for publication/use, with limited edits |
| Reckless driving: how to state elements given §316.192(1)(a) vs (1)(b) | Committee: separate elements for traditional reckless driving and fleeing-as-reckless-driving per §316.192(1)(b) | (No opposing statutory argument) | Court adopted split elements, added pertinent definitions and lesser-included tables |
| Definition of "maliciously" in aggravated abuse of elderly/disabled adult | Committee: original proposed wording | Court/commenter: refinement needed to align with statutory parallels (aggravated child abuse definition) | Court revised the "maliciously" definition to: "wrongfully, intentionally, and without legal justification or excuse," with explanatory guidance |
| Lesser-included offenses and statutory corrections across license/driving instructions | Committee: add attempt and correct citations; clarify definitions (motor vehicle/highway) | (No contrary argument) | Court authorized corrections and the addition of attempt to lesser-included tables; added comment guidance where applicable (e.g., restricted license penalties) |
Key Cases Cited
- W.E.B. v. State, 553 So.2d 323 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989) (support for definitional language used in reckless driving instruction)
- Patterson v. State, 512 So.2d 1109 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987) (authority cited for definitions of "willfully" and culpable negligence)