Friday, November 21, 2008

Defendant Cannot Appeal Due to Failure to Request Instruction During Trial

Considering this general proposition that evidence unobjected to is for the jury in the first instance, it clearly became the duty of the defendant to make plainly known to the court its basis for a special charge on the point. Thus, this is not an instance where the court failed to charge fully upon all points of law in the case whether or not it is requested to do so under the rule stated in Blondin v. Carr, and State v. Brisson. The record fails to disclose that this testimony in any manner raised, or injected, a material issue of law during the trial. It clearly was not an essential issue, or element, in the case. The trial court is not bound to charge on an issue not in the case. Neither is it bound to make every conceivable comment on the evidence, Covell v. McCarthy, or the weight of it, Mercier v. Holmes. The extent of the elaboration of the various points contained within the charge is within the discretion of the court.

Moreover, the defendant did not request the court to give the instruction respecting the matter it objected to which, under the circumstances shown, defendant's counsel could have done under County Court Rule 30. The evidence being in the case without objection, together with other conventional evidence of damages, the court was entitled to treat that testimony as properly for consideration by the jury unless timely and adequately moved to do otherwise by the defendant. Considering the exception to be in substance a request to charge, it came too late, and there was no error in the refusal to comply with it. No error appears.

Judgment affirmed.