GARY LEE WILLIAMS, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the trial court did not err in denying a requested jury instruction because the issue was adequately covered by the standard instruction.
The defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and firearm possession. The defense requested a special jury instruction regarding the victim's rep…
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PER CURIAM.
Defendant appeals his convictions of first-degree murder and firearm possession claiming the court reversibly erred in failing to give a requested jury instruction. We affirm.
In the present case, the trial court gave the “reputation of victim” instruction which is part of Criminal Standard Jury Instruction 3.04(d) (Justifiable Use of Deadly Force). That instruction provides:
If you find that (victim) had a reputation of being a violent and dangerous person and that his reputation was known to the defendant, you may consider this fact in determining whether the actions of the defendant were those of a reasonable person in dealing with an individual of that reputation.
The defense requested a special instruction which simply restated the standard jury instruction in a different form. The proposed instruction began with the same introductory clause as is used in the standard jury instruction. It then substituted “You may consider this fact in also determining his propensity for violence and likelihood that Andrew Adams [the victim] was the aggressor” in lieu of “You may consider this fact in determining whether the actions of the defendant were those of a reasonable person in dealing with an individual of that reputation.”
The trial court’s denial of the requested instruction was entirely correct. The issue was adequately covered by the standard instruction. The grant or denial of a jury instruction is addressed to the sound discretion of the trial court, and the trial court acted well within the bounds of that discretion in denying defendant’s request.
As other points raised are without merit, the judgment of conviction is affirmed.
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McGAHEE v. State, 600 So. 2d 9 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)…the applicable law on justifiable homicide and was not, as urged, prejudicial to the defendant. See United States v. Gold, 743 F. 2d 800, 819-24 (11th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1217, 105 S.Ct. 1196, 84 L.Ed.2d 341 (1985); Williams v. State, 591 So. 2d 319 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991); cf. Clark v. State, 461 So. 2d 131 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). (3) Finally, the defendant was not, as urged, prejudiced by the giving of a short-form excusable homicide instruction on the theory that it may have misled or confused the j…
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Pozo v. State, 682 So. 2d 1124 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996)…court’s refusal to give a requested jury instruction on the justifiable use of deadly force in a defendant’s own home, we note that the granting or denial of a jury instruction lies within the sound discretion of the trial court. Williams v. State, 591 So. 2d 319, 320 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991). The lower court gave the standard instruction on self-defense. If we assume arguendo that the court erred in failing to give the additional “defense of home” instruction, we nevertheless would conclude that the appellee met…
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