Jury Instructions – Precedent Clarification

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Criminal

Supreme Court of Wisconsin

Jury Instructions – Precedent Clarification

2014-AP-1099-CR State of Wisconsin v. Maltese Lavele Williams

Clarification of the legal standards in State v. Wulff, 207 Wis. 2d 143, 557 N.W.2d 813 (1997) and State v. Beamon, 2013 WI 47, 347 Wis. 2d 559, 830 N.W.2d 681 as related to harmless errors in jury instructions. New standard applied to case at hand.

“Thus, when an erroneous jury instruction raises the State’s burden by adding an element not necessary for conviction, and the jury convicts, the jury verdict will often sufficiently show that the jury would have convicted if instructed on the proper elements. However, if an erroneous jury instruction omits an element or instructs on a different theory, it will often be difficult to surmise what the jury would have done if confronted with a proper instruction, even if the jury convicted under the erroneous instruction. In other words, in the latter situation it will be more difficult to demonstrate that the error in the jury instruction was harmless.”

DAVID T. PROSSER, J.

Concurring: ABRAHAMSON, J., concurs. (Opinion Filed.)

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