By: Derek Hawkins//July 20, 2015//
Criminal
WI Court of Appeals – District IV
Officials: Sherman, Kloppenburg and Neubauer, JJ.
Jury Instructions – Prejudicial Error
2011AP1496 State v. Johnathon T. Adeyanju
Appellant Johnathon T. Adeyanju appeals decision denying petition for postconviction relief arguing that the circuit court erred 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.) Adeyanju argues that this caused him prejudice by leading the jury to believe that he had already pled guilty. We conclude that Adeyanju 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.