In re Amendments to Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases—Instruction 7.7

Summary

The Florida Supreme Court authorized, on an interim basis, an amended Standard Jury Instruction 7.7 concerning manslaughter. The amendment responded to the court's decision in State v. Montgomery, which held that the prior instruction could constitute fundamental error by requiring proof of an intent to kill. The court invited comments and stated that the interim authorization did not foreclose challenges to the instruction's legal correctness.

Holdings

1. The Supreme Court of Florida authorized the amended Standard Jury Instruction 7.7 for publication and immediate interim use until further order of the court.
2. The interim authorization did not resolve the ultimate legal correctness or applicability of the amended instruction and did not foreclose requests for additional or alternative instructions or challenges to the instruction's legal correctness.
3. Under the amended instruction, when manslaughter by intentional act is alleged and proved as a lesser included offense of first-degree premeditated murder, the State need not prove a premeditated intent to cause death; it must prove an intent to commit an act that was not justified or excusable and that caused death.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Supreme Court of Florida should authorize the amended Standard Jury Instruction 7.7 on manslaughter for publication and interim use in light of State v. Montgomery.
2. Whether the amended instruction should be treated as conclusively legally correct or as foreclosing requests for additional or alternative instructions.

Disposition

other