On Point blog, page 1 of 1
Federal habeas relief can’t be based on jury instruction containing error of state law
Donovan M. Burris v. Judy P. Smith, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals No. 15-2891, 4/28/16
Burris’s claim that a supplemental instruction to the jury about how to determine “utter disregard for human life” doesn’t present a claim for federal habeas relief because it presents only a claim about an error of state law, not a claim that the instruction violated federal constitutional law.
Challenges to sufficiency of evidence and self-defense instruction in reckless homicide case rejected
State v. Phillip Kareen Green, 2015AP1126-CR, 4/26/16, District 1 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs)
Green argues that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of first degree reckless homicide because it didn’t prove he acted with utter disregard for human life. He also argues for a new trial in the interest of justice on the grounds that: 1) the jury wasn’t fully instructed about the interaction between self-defense and the utter disregard element; and 2) important facts were not introduced or placed in proper context. The court of appeals rejects Green’s claims in a decision heavy on facts and light on analysis.
Waiver (Lack of Objection); Instructions – Self-Defense; McMorris Evidence
State v. Curtis L. Jackson, 2011AP2698-CR, District 1, 10/10/12; court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication), petition for review granted 2/11/13, affirmed, 2014 WI 4 (1/22/14); case activity
Waiver (Lack of Objection), Generally – Jury Instructions
¶8 … To obtain relief based on a jury instruction to which no objection was made, Jackson must show that “considering the proceedings as a whole,
“Utter Disregard” Element (Reckless Homicide, § 940.02(1)): Sufficient Proof (High-Speed Auto Collision); Discovery: Rebuttal Computer Simulation; Evidentiary Foundation / Probative Value: Computer Simulation
State v. Anrietta M. Geske, 2012 WI App 15 (recommended for publication); for Geske: Jefren E. Olsen, SPD, Madison Appellate; case activity
Sufficiency of Proof – “Utter Disregard” Element (Reckless Homicide, § 940.02(1))
Evidence held sufficient to support reckless homicide element of utter disregard of human life, where deaths resulted from high-speed automobile collision after running red light, notwithstanding undisputed evidence that Geske swerved her car in an attempt to avoid the collision.
Utter Disregard for Life: After-the-Fact Conduct / Supplemental Jury Instruction
State v. Donovan M. Burris, 2011 WI 32, reversing unpublished decision; for Burris: Byron C. Lichstein; case activity
Utter Disregard for Life – After-the-Fact Conduct
¶7 We conclude that, in an utter disregard analysis, a defendant’s conduct is not, as a matter of law, assigned more or less weight whether the conduct occurred before, during, or after the crime. We hold that,