Jury Instructions – Prejudicial Error

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Civil
WI Court of Appeals – District IV

Officials: Sherman, Kloppenburg and Neubauer, JJ.

Jury Instructions – Prejudicial Error

2011AP1147 State of Wisconsin v. Mark J. Mey

Appellant Mark J. Mey appeals circuit court decision arguing that the circuit court committed plain error when reading the jury instruction for the second and third counts, which were two of the attempted homicide counts. Each time, the court stated: “To this charge, each of the defendants before you has entered a plea of guilty, which means the State must prove every element of the offense charged beyond a reasonable doubt.” (Emphasis added.) Mey argues that this caused him prejudice by leading the jury to believe that he had already pled guilty, and that it need not deliberate and reach a decision of its own. We agree with the State that Mey was not prejudiced by this error. We believe that most jurors would understand this was an error by the court. The remainder of the instructions made it clear that it was the jury’s task to determine the defendants’ guilt on all counts that were the subject of the trial.

Decision

Affirmed. Per Curiam

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