Brett v. State

961 P.2d 385, 1998 Wyo. LEXIS 114, 1998 WL 463151
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 11, 1998
Docket97-86
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 961 P.2d 385 (Brett v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brett v. State, 961 P.2d 385, 1998 Wyo. LEXIS 114, 1998 WL 463151 (Wyo. 1998).

Opinions

GOLDEN, Justice.

James Edward Brett (Brett) appeals from his judgment and sentence after a jury found him guilty of burglary, in violation of Wyo. Stat. § 6-3-301. Brett claims that the trial court erred when it failed to instruct the jury with his proffered instructions concerning the definition of the word “deprive” as it is used in the larceny statute, the definition of “felony,” the crime of unauthorized use of a vehicle, and his defense theory of the case instruction concerning self-intoxication. ' The trial court must instruct the jury on each and every element of the crime charged and on the defendant’s theory of the case, if that theory is supported by competent evidence and is an accurate statement of the law. The proffered instruction defining “deprive” as the intent to permanently deprive the lawful owner of possession and the instruction concerning self-intoxication should have been given to the jury. Therefore, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

ISSUES

Appellant Brett presents two issues for our review:

Issue I: Whether the trial court erred when it refused to properly instruct the jury?
Issue II: Whether the trial court erred by refusing to give a self-intoxication instruction to the jury when the evidence clearly warranted one?

[388]*388The State, as appellee, presents only one issue:

Whether the trial court properly instructed the jury.

FACTS

On September 17, 1996, the victim was closing the shop where he worked. When the victim opened the side door of the building, he saw his 1979 Chevrolet pickup being driven away. The victim yelled at the driver and ran across the parking lot and into the street, trying to stop the vehicle. As the pickup went past him, he grabbed the door handle and the mirror on the passenger side, looked into the window, and saw Brett driving. The victim let go of the vehicle after he observed who was driving.

The victim was standing in the street when a fellow who knew him came along. The victim flagged him down and asked for a ride. The pair followed the victim’s pickup until it turned right at an intersection, using the turn signal. However, by the time they arrived at the intersection, they could no longer see the pickup. They drove around the block and did not see the pickup, so the victim went back to his place of employment to finish locking up the building and called the police.

After he called the police to report his vehicle stolen, the victim drove his employer’s truck to look for his vehicle. As he was driving up the street, he saw his pickup parked in a local automotive parts store parking lot. He parked the service truck behind the pickup and walked over and looked in the window to see if his key was still in the ignition. When he saw that the key was missing, he opened the door to look inside. He smelled beer and saw a pack of cigarettes on the seat. The victim neither drinks nor smokes, so he surmised the man who took his truck left them there. The victim then called the police from the phone inside the store and informed them that he had located his vehicle.

When the police officer arrived, he inspected the vehicle and drove the victim to the police station to complete some paperwork. After the paperwork was complete, the officer drove the victim back to the service vehicle and his own vehicle in the parking lot. The victim then took it upon himself to drive around and look for the person who took his vehicle. He found Brett in front of a local gas station. The victim drove to a nearby relative’s home and called the police to inform them that the suspect was at the gas station. After making that call, he watched Brett until police arrived.

A police officer approached Brett, told him he needed to talk to him about a vehicle theft, patted him down for weapons and discovered an unopened bottle of vodka, three beers, and a full pack of cigarettes in his pockets. Shortly thereafter, the victim arrived and identified Brett as the person he observed driving his pickup. Brett was then handcuffed, placed in a patrol car and taken to the police department.

On September 19, 1996, a criminal complaint and warrant were issued, alleging Brett was guilty of burglary, in violation of Wyo. Stat. § 6-3-301. Brett pled not guilty, and a jury trial was held on November 26, 1996.

During the jury instruction conference, Brett offered several jury instructions which were refused by the trial court. Defense counsel properly preserved the issue for appeal by specifically objecting to the trial court’s decision not to present his proffered instructions to the jury. The jury found Brett guilty of the crime of burglary, and the judge sentenced Brett to twenty-eight to sixty months in the state penitentiary, with credit for time served. This appeal timely followed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Brett contends that the instructions which were given did not present elements of the crime charged which related to his defense. He also contends that the trial court improperly refused to give an instruction presenting his theory that he was intoxicated to the point of being unable to form the intent to steal. Whether a defendant had the requisite intent to steal is a question of fact for the jury, based on proper instruction on [389]*389the law from the trial court. Stapleman v. State, 680 P.2d 73, 76 (Wyo.1984).

It is well established that a trial court has a duty to instruct the jury on the general principles of law applicable to the case before it. A trial court is given wide latitude in instructing the jury, and we will not find reversible error as long as the instructions given to the jury correctly state the law and adequately .cover the relevant issues. Baier v. State, 891 P.2d 764, 756 (Wyo.1995).

When determining whether the charge to the jury properly expressed the issues actually raised by the evidence, we look at the charge in its entirety, reading all of the instructions together. Vigil v. State, 859 P.2d 659, 668 (Wyo.1993); Baier, 891 P.2d at 756; Hatheway v. State, 623 P.2d 741, 743 (Wyo.1981). Jury instructions should inform the jury about the applicable law so the jury may apply that law to its findings on the material factual issues. Compton v. State, 931 P.2d 936, 939 (Wyo.1997). “It is critical that instructions correctly articulate Wyoming law because it is from the instructions that a jury decides if someone is to be found guilty or not guilty.” Oien v. State, 797 P.2d 544, 548 (Wyo.1990).

Failure to instruct the jury on an essential element of a- criminal offense is fundamental error, requiring reversal of the defendant’s conviction. Compton, 931 P.2d at 940. Similarly, “[a] trial court violates Wyoming’s constitutional due process guarantee when it fails to give to the jury the defendant’s theory of the ease or defense instruction if that theory properly articulates Wyoming law, is not presented by another instruction, and has competent evidence to underpin the request.” Wilkening v. State,

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Brett v. State
961 P.2d 385 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1998)

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Bluebook (online)
961 P.2d 385, 1998 Wyo. LEXIS 114, 1998 WL 463151, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brett-v-state-wyo-1998.