State v. Comen

553 N.E.2d 640, 50 Ohio St. 3d 206, 1990 Ohio LEXIS 179
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedApril 18, 1990
DocketNo. 89-402
StatusPublished
Cited by601 cases

This text of 553 N.E.2d 640 (State v. Comen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Comen, 553 N.E.2d 640, 50 Ohio St. 3d 206, 1990 Ohio LEXIS 179 (Ohio 1990).

Opinion

Douglas, J.

At trial, and before any evidence was presented, appellant was informed by the trial court that the jury would be instructed on three separate occasions: before the opening statements of counsel, after the evidence was presented but before closing arguments, and after closing arguments. At that time, appellant did not object to the court’s splitting of instructions.

Following his announced procedure, the trial judge, before counsel’s opening statements, instructed the jury on its obligation to follow the law, the significance of objections, the function of the jury as a trier of fact, the role of counsel, the correlation between questions and answers, the meaning of direct and circumstantial evidence, permissible inferences, and the credibility and weighing of evidence.

After the evidence was presented, and before counsel’s closing arguments, the court again informed appellant that it would split the jury instructions. At that time, and at the request of both parties, the court agreed to repeat instructions on circumstantial evidence. Also at that time, appellant requested that before the case was submitted to the jury, the court repeat all relevant instructions previously provided in its preliminary instructions. Appellant’s request was denied. The trial court, in addressing the jury, stated:

“* * * I am not going to reread for you the other instructions I gave you, for example, on credibility of witnesses and weight to be given to testimony and yours and my separate functions.

“However, when you get back in the jury room and deliberate, if at any point in time you need to have any of those instructions reread to you, the instructions I haven’t reread at this point or instructions for that matter that I give right now, if you need those reread, you can ask for those. So as I said, I’m not going to do that.

“Now as I said at the beginning of the trial, I instructed you on what is evidence, direct and circumstantial, you are the sole judges of the facts, credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given to the testimony.”

After informing the jury that all of the previously given instructions would not be repeated, the trial court then instructed the jury on direct and circumstantial evidence, permissible inferences, prior convictions, and on the law as applied to this case. It further instructed the jury not to take into consideration that the defendant did [209]*209not testify, and to look at the evidence against defendant Comen separately.1

After the closing arguments of counsel, the court again instructed the jury. The court instructed the jury on how to fill out the verdict forms and on the deliberation process.

Following this last instruction, the jury retired to deliberate. During deliberations, the jury asked two questions. The jury asked the court to reread the definitions of aiding and abetting and aggravated burglary. The court complied and reread both definitions. In addition, the jury asked: “In a team effort are all parties guilty of total crime[?]” In declining to answer the second question, the court stated it could only reread portions of the charge.

Based on the foregoing, appellant, in his first proposition of law, cites to Crim. R. 30 and contends that the trial court committed prejudicial error by not giving and/or repeating all relevant jury instructions at the conclusion of counsel’s arguments. Appellant specifically contends that the trial court erred by not repeating instructions on credibility and weighing of the evidence.

Crim. R. 30 provides in pertinent part:

“(A) Instructions; error; record. At the close of the evidence or at such earlier time during the trial as the court reasonably directs, any party may file written requests that the court instruct the jury on the law as set forth in the requests. * * * The court shall inform counsel of its proposed action upon the requests prior to their arguments to the jury, but the court shall instruct the jury ajter the arguments are completed. The court need not reduce its instructions to writing.

<<* * *

“(B) Cautionary instructions. At the commencement and during the course of the trial, the court may give the jury cautionary and other instructions of law relating to trial procedure, credibility and weight of the evidence, and the duty and function of the jury and may acquaint the jury generally with the nature of the case.” (Emphasis added.)

Crim. R. 30(A) clearly requires that “* * * the court shall instruct the jury after the arguments are completed * * The language in the rule is mandatory and there is good reason for the mandate. Jurors, being laypersons selected from the citizens of a particular district, are better able to grasp the importance of instructions after they have heard all the evidence.

Likewise, Crim. R. 30(B) plays an important part in the trial process. Preliminary instructions prepare the jury for trial providing orientation so the jury is properly informed as to its duties and responsibilities. Cautionary instructions are often utilized in instructing the jury to consider only certain evidence for a specific purpose, or to inform the jury not to be influenced by extraneous matters.

If the preliminary or cautionary instructions include matters of law vital to the rights of a defendant, the trial court is not excused from including or repeating all such instructions after the arguments are completed. Repeating instructions means fully instructing the jury on the law applicable to the case and not providing them simply with a cursory reminder of what was earlier provided in either the preliminary or cautionary instructions. Regardless of the length of trial, the court cannot assume the jury recalls or remembers the prior instructions.

[210]*210Accordingly, we hold that before the taking of evidence, a trial court may give preliminary instructions to the jury appropriate for the jury’s guidance in hearing the case. A court may also give cautionary instructions throughout the trial. After arguments are completed, a trial court must fully and completely give the jury all instructions winch are relevant and necessary for the jury to weigh the evidence and discharge its duty as the fact finder.

Turning our attention now to the case before us, and being mindful of our previous discussion, we find appellant presents no evidence that he was prejudiced by the trial court’s refusal to repeat all instructions. Additionally, appellant presents no evidence that the absence of instructions on credibility and weighing of the evidence at the completion of counsel’s arguments was prejudicial.

Accordingly, while we find that the proper procedure is for a trial court to explicitly follow Crim. R. 30 when instructing a jury, we also find appellant’s first proposition of law not well-taken.

In his second proposition of law, appellant contends that Officer Young lacked specific and articulable facts which would reasonably lead him to believe that appellant burglarized the Arnebeck home. In essence, appellant argues that Young did not have a reasonable suspicion to justify an investigative stop and, therefore, any evidence obtained pursuant to the illegal stop must be suppressed.

We do not agree. In State v. Bobo (1988), 37 Ohio St. 3d 177, 524 N.E. 2d 489, paragraph one of the syllabus, we held:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
553 N.E.2d 640, 50 Ohio St. 3d 206, 1990 Ohio LEXIS 179, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-comen-ohio-1990.