J. Requests To Charge and the Court'sInstructions

• Jurisdiction: New York

J. Requests to Charge and the Court's Instructions

Prior to summation, the court must inform the parties of the charges that will be submitted for the jury's consideration.⁶⁷⁷ The parties may submit requests to charge, orally or in writing, both before and after the court's charge. The court must charge the jury on certain mandatory principles.⁶⁷⁸ Upon request, but not otherwise, the court must charge that the jury may not draw any unfavorable inference from the accused's failure to testify. After the court's charge, counsel must state any objections with specificity. ⁶⁷⁹ A general exception to the charge does not preserve any error for review.⁶⁸⁰

A court must grant a defendant's request for a circumstantial evidence charge when the proof of the defendant's guilt rests solely on circumstantial evidence. By contrast, where there is both direct and circumstantial evidence of the defendant's guilt, such a charge need not be given. A particular piece of evidence is not required to be wholly dispositive of guilt in order to constitute direct evidence, so long as it proves directly a disputed fact without requiring an inference to be made.⁶⁸¹

Under CPL § 300.50, the court, in its discretion, may submit any lesser-included offense. If either party requests such...