State v. R.T.

ESPINOSA, J.S.C., temporarily assigned,

dissenting.

This case requires us to review one of the more difficult decisions a trial judge must make in a criminal trial—the decision to give a charge that is objected to by counsel, a decision which, the majority acknowledges, was given thoughtful consideration by the judge in this ease. Taking stock of defendant’s own statements that his intoxication played a role in the sexual assaults charged, the trial court determined that an instruction on voluntary intoxication was needed to guide the jury in its deliberations. This was a reasonable exercise of…