Elder v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia

Elder v. State

349 S.E.2d 30, 180 Ga. App. 295, 1986 Ga. App. LEXIS 2143

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia

DecidedSeptember 16, 1986

Docket72855

StatusPublished

Cited by2 cases

This text of 349 S.E.2d 30 (Elder v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Elder v. State, 349 S.E.2d 30, 180 Ga. App. 295, 1986 Ga. App. LEXIS 2143 (Ga. Ct. App. 1986).

Pincite

Opinion

Sognier, Judge.

Appellant was convicted of burglary. In his sole enumeration of error he contends the trial court erred by failing to give his requested charge on criminal trespass in its entirety.

Appellant requested that the court give the following charge: “(a) A person commits the offense of criminal trespass when he intentionally damages any property of another without his consent and the damage thereto is $500 or less, or knowing (sic) and maliciously interferes with the possession or use of the property of another person without his consent.

“(b) A person commits the offense of criminal trespass when he knowingly and without authority:

“(1) Enters upon the land or premises of another person ... for an unlawful purpose.” The court gave only the portion of the requested charge designated “(b) (1)” and appellant contends it was error not to give the requested charge in its entirety. We do not agree.

The evidence disclosed that appellant was caught inside the counselling center of the First Baptist Church building in Atlanta, Georgia, on the night of August 1, 1985, and that he had no authority to be in the building. A rear window of the building was broken, a front window was damaged and an interior office window was broken. Appellant denied entering the building or damaging it in any way, testifying that he heard a woman scream and ran up the church steps to investigate.

A criminal defendant cannot legitimately raise the issue of criminal trespass by means of intentionally damaging another person’s property without consent when he claims he did not damage the property. See, e.g., Lowe v. State, 179 Ga. App. 377 (346 SE2d 845) (1986). Hence, the court did not err by failing to give the requested charge in its entirety, as the trial court is not obligated to give requested charges which are not adjusted to the evidence. Amerson v. State, 177 Ga. App. 97, 99 (4) (338 SE2d 528) (1985).

Judgment affirmed.

Banke, C. J., and Birdsong, P. J., concur. [296]*296Decided September 16, 1986. Derek H. Jones, for appellant. Lewis R. Slaton, District Attorney, H. Allen Moye, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Sognier, Judge.

Appellant was convicted of burglary. In his sole enumeration of error he contends the trial court erred by failing to give his requested charge on criminal trespass in its entirety.

Appellant requested that the court give the following charge: “(a) A person commits the offense of criminal trespass when he intentionally damages any property of another without his consent and the damage thereto is $500 or less, or knowing (sic) and maliciously interferes with the possession or use of the property of another person without his consent.

“(b) A person commits the offense of criminal trespass when he knowingly and without authority:

“(1) Enters upon the land or premises of another person ... for an unlawful purpose.” The court gave only the portion of the requested charge designated “(b) (1)” and appellant contends it was error not to give the requested charge in its entirety. We do not agree.

The evidence disclosed that appellant was caught inside the counselling center of the First Baptist Church building in Atlanta, Georgia, on the night of August 1, 1985, and that he had no authority to be in the building. A rear window of the building was broken, a front window was damaged and an interior office window was broken. Appellant denied entering the building or damaging it in any way, testifying that he heard a woman scream and ran up the church steps to investigate.

A criminal defendant cannot legitimately raise the issue of criminal trespass by means of intentionally damaging another person’s property without consent when he claims he did not damage the property. See, e.g., Lowe v. State, 179 Ga. App. 377 (346 SE2d 845) (1986). Hence, the court did not err by failing to give the requested charge in its entirety, as the trial court is not obligated to give requested charges which are not adjusted to the evidence. Amerson v. State, 177 Ga. App. 97, 99 (4) (338 SE2d 528) (1985).

Judgment affirmed.

Banke, C. J., and Birdsong, P. J., concur. [296]*296Decided September 16, 1986. Derek H. Jones, for appellant. Lewis R. Slaton, District Attorney, H. Allen Moye, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

349 S.E.2d 30, 180 Ga. App. 295, 1986 Ga. App. LEXIS 2143, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/elder-v-state-gactapp-1986.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack