State v. Portillo

OPINION

FELDMAN, Chief Justice.

Defendants Martin Portillo and Mario Tercero were convicted of various crimes in separate, unrelated trials. Over defense objection in both cases, the trial court gave an instruction defining the term “reasonable doubt.” 1 Concluding that the instruction was not improper, the court of appeals affirmed Tercero’s conviction by memorandum decision. State v. Tercero, No. 1 CA-CR 93-0348, mem. dec. at 8 (Ariz.Ct.App. July 26, 1994). In Portillo’s case, the court of appeals similarly found no error in giving the instruction, although it reversed his conviction on other…