State v. Liaw
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of second-degree kidnapping and criminal trespass. Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in declining to give Defendant’s proposed instructions defining specific intent and voluntary intoxication. The Supreme Court reversed the conviction, holding (1) second-degree kidnapping is a specific intent crime, and the trial court abused its discretion by not so instructing the jury; (2) the trial court abused its discretion by denying Defendant’s proposed jury instruction related to voluntary intoxication so that the jury could properly consider his defense; and (3) Defendant was prejudiced by the trial court’s abuse of discretion. Remanded.
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