Case Name: Henderson NURSE, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1995-07-05
Citations: 658 So. 2d 1074
Docket Number: No. 93-2027
Parties: Henderson NURSE, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: Before BARKDULL and HUBBART and COPE, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 658
Pages: 1074–1089

Head Matter:
Henderson NURSE, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 93-2027.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
July 5, 1995.
Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender, and Marti Rothenberg, Asst. Public Defender, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Michele A. Smith, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appel-lee.
Before BARKDULL and HUBBART and COPE, JJ.

Opinion:
HUBBART, Judge.
This is an appeal by the defendant Henderson Nurse from judgments of conviction and sentences for (1) attempted burglary of an unoccupied structure, a third degree felony [§§ 777.04(4)(c), 810.02(3), Fla.Stat. (1991) ], as a "lesser included offense" of the charged offense of burglary of an unoccupied structure, also a third degree felony [§ 810.02(3), Fla.Stat. (1991) ], (2) petit theft [§ 812.014(1), (2)(d), Fla.Stat. (1991) ], and (3) resisting an officer without violence [§ 843.02, Fla.Stat. (1991) ], which were entered below based on an adverse jury verdict. The central issue presented by this appeal is whether it constitutes reversible error for a trial court, as here, to instruct the jury, over proper objection, on a "lesser included offense" when, as here, (a) the lesser offense carries the same penalty as the charged offense, and (b) the jury convicts the defendant on the lesser offense. We conclude that reversible error is presented under these circumstances based on a holding that (1) all lesser included offenses — i.e. both category 1 and category 2 lesser included offenses— must carry a lesser penalty than the charged offense, else they are not proper lesser included offenses, and (2) attempted burglary of an unoccupied structure cannot be a proper lesser included offense of the charged offense of burglary of an unoccupied structure because both offenses are third-degree felonies and carry the same penalty. We accordingly reverse the attempted burglary conviction and remand for a new trial on the necessarily included offense of simple trespass [§ 810.08(1), Fla.Stat. (1991)], but affirm the petit theft and resisting arrest convictions.
I
The facts of this case are as follows. The defendant Henderson Nurse was charged in a three-count information with: (1) burglary of an unoccupied structure, (2) petit theft, and (3) resisting arrest without violence. He entered a plea of not guilty and was tried by a jury.
The evidence adduced at trial established that on March 13, 1993, the complainant's neighbor observed the defendant wandering around in the neighbor's yard without permission and placing his hands on various items in the yard. The neighbor came outside and confronted the defendant who was standing near a wood pile with some plywood in his hands; the neighbor asked the defendant what he was doing, and the defendant replied that he was "covering up" the wood. The defendant then walked into the complainant's adjoining yard, reached into the complainant's tool shed and brought out a pair of hedge clippers; then, when he noticed that the neighbor was watching, the defendant placed the clippers back in the shed and walked away. The structure from which the defendant took the hedge clippers was described as a "shed . a little storage shed no wider than about three feet .not big enough to step into, only large enough to reach into; the shed had been damaged by Hurricane Andrew, had only three walls, and contained gardening equipment and tools.
After leaving the complainant's yard, the defendant went into a nearby hurricane-damaged garage, came out with a bicycle and rode off down the street. The police were summoned and later intercepted the defendant riding the bicycle in the area; when the police officers asked the defendant to come over to speak to them, the defendant rode off, tried to hide in a hedge, and then ran away until the police caught and arrested him.
At a charge conference, the state requested a jury instruction on attempted burglary of a structure as a lesser included offense of burglary of an unoccupied structure. The defendant objected to this charge solely on the ground that attempted burglary was not a lesser included offense of the burglary because both offenses were third-degree felonies and carried the same penalty. The trial court overruled the defendant's objection and gave the requested attempted burglary instruction. The jury convicted the defendant of attempted burglary, petit theft and resisting arrest without violence. The defendant appeals, claiming as error the giving of the attempted burglary instruction.
II
The law in Florida is well settled that in a criminal case there are two categories of lesser included offenses upon which a trial court is authorized to instruct the jury under the charged offense in an indictment or information: (1) a necessarily included offense, Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.510(b), and (2) a permissive included offense [including any attempt to commit the charged offense and some lesser degree offenses],, Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.510, 3.490. The Florida Supreme Court has expressly so held:
"There has been some confusion in Florida law on how to define lesser included offenses. At one time, the state recognized four separate categories of lesser included offenses, each of which required a separate analysis. Brown v. State, 206 So.2d 377 (Fla.1968) ("Brown II"). Later, partly because of the confusion this earlier categorization had caused, the Court reduced the number of categories to two:
1. Offenses necessarily included in the offense charged, which will include some lesser degrees of offenses.
2. Offenses which may or may not be included in the offense charged, depending on the accusatory pleading and the evidence, which will include all attempts and some lesser degrees of offense.
In re the Use by the Trial Courts of the Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases, 431 So.2d 594, 596 (Fla.1981), modified, 431 So.2d 599 (Fla.1981)."
State v. Weller, 590 So.2d 923, 925 (Fla.1991) (emphasis added).
A
In turn, each of these two categories of lesser included offenses have certain requirements which, under existing case law, must be met before being considered proper lesser offenses. As to the first category, a necessarily included offense, Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.510(b), is by definition "an essential aspect of the major offense," one in which "the burden of proof of the major crime cannot be discharged, without proving the lesser crime as an essential link in the chain of evidence," Brown v. State, 206 So.2d 377, 382 (Fla.1968); this means that the statutory elements of a necessarily included offense must be subsumed within the statutory elements of the charged offense. A trial judge has no discretion on whether to instruct the jury on a necessarily included offense; upon request of either party, the judge must so charge the jury once it is determined that the offense is a necessarily included offense, even if the evidence shows that this lesser offense could not have been committed without also committing the charged offense. State v. Wimberly, 498 So.2d 929 (Fla.1986).
As to the second category, a permissive lesser included offense is, in its purest form, the same as a necessarily included offense except that it contains one or more statutory elements which the charged offense does not contain. Consequently, such an offense "may or may not be included in the offense charged, depending upon, (a) the accusatory pleading, and (b) the evidence at the trial." Brown v. State, 206 So.2d at 377, 383 (emphasis in original). If (a) the accusatory pleading alleges all the statutory elements of the lesser offense, Brown, and (b) the subject offense "is supported by the evidence," Fla. R.Crim.P. 3.510(a), aside from proof of the charged offense, so that there is, in effect, a rational basis in the evidence upon which the jury could conclude that the lesser offense, rather than the charged offense, was committed—the trial court must charge the jury on the lesser offense. Wimberly. Moreover, the trial court is expressly precluded from instructing the jury on such an offense "as to which there is no evidence," Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.510(b), aside from proof of the charged offense.
Attempts to commit the charged offense and some lesser degree crimes, as covered by Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.510(a), 3.490, are also now considered permissive lesser included offenses—although they were originally treated as two additional categories in the pathbreaking Brown decision. Weller. Subsequent to Bronm, the relevant rules were changed so that now there must, in effect, be a rational basis in the evidence upon which the jury could conclude that the attempt or lesser degree offense, rather than the charged offense, was committed before the trial court can instruct the jury on such offenses. The jury may only be instructed on an attempt or lesser degree offense if such offense is "supported by the evidence," Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.510(a), 3.490, aside from proof of the charged offense; moreover, the trial court is now expressly precluded from instructing the jury (a) on an attempt "if there is no evidence to support the attempt," Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.510(a), and (b) on a lesser degree offense "as to which there is no evidence," Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.490—aside from proof of the charged offense. See generally Jones v. State, 492 So.2d 1124, 1126-29 (Fla. 3d DCA) (Hubbart, J., concurring in part, dissenting in part), rev. denied, 501 So.2d 1282 (Fla.1986). Thus, these two types of offenses are now denominated category 2 permissive lesser included offenses because (a) the accusatory pleading charging the main offense is considered to automatically include an attempt to commit the charged offense (if such an attempt is an offense), as well as a lesser degree offense (if the main offense is divisible into degrees), and (b) the subject offenses must be charged on only when there is, in effect, a rational basis in the evidence to support a conviction for such offense to the exclusion of the main offense. Weller.
B
It is clear from existing case law, the basic underlying policy reasons for lesser included offenses, and long-standing historical practice that all lesser included offenses—category 1 necessarily included offenses and category 2 permissive lesser included offenses (including attempts and some lesser degree offenses)—must carry a lesser penalty than the charged offense, else they are not proper lesser included offenses. Although none of the lesser included offense rules contain an express provision to that effect, see Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.510, 3.490, this is nonetheless an essential element of all such lesser included offenses as a matter of judicial implication.
1
First, Florida case law strongly supports this conclusion. In Ray v. State, 403 So.2d 956 (Fla.1981), the Florida Supreme Court held that a lewd assault on a child under fourteen, under Section 800.04, Florida Statutes (1975), was not (1) a necessarily included offense, or (2) a "pure" permissive lesser included offense under the charged offense of sexual battery on a person over the age of eleven under Section 794.011(5), Florida Statutes (1975). The Court reached this result on the basis that, inter alia, the lewd assault was "not 'lesser' because both section 794.011(5) [the charged offense] and section' 800.04 [the alleged lesser offense] are second-degree felonies," and that, accordingly, the defendant "was convicted of a crime [lewd assault] for which he was not charged and which was not a permissible lesser included offense of the crime for which he was charged." 403 So.2d at 959. Clearly, then, an offense cannot be a lesser included offense if, as here, it carries the same penalty as the charged offense.
In State v. Carpenter, 417 So.2d 986 (Fla. 1982), the Florida Supreme Court held that a defendant could be properly convicted and sentenced for battery on a police officer and resisting arrest with violence, and that Section 775.021(4), Florida Statutes (1979), prohibiting multiple convictions for "lesser included offenses," was inapplicable. The Court concluded that resisting arrest with violence was not a lesser included offense of battery on a police officer because, inter alia, both offenses carry the same penalty. "Whereas here two crimes carry the same penalty, section 775.021(4) does not prohibit consecutive sentencing, since one crime is not the lesser of the other." 417 So.2d at 987. Again, it was determined that an offense cannot be a lesser included offense if it carries the same penalty as the charged offense.
In State v. Weller, 590 So.2d 923 (Fla.1991), the Florida Supreme Court restated the rule of Carpenter as follows: "We previously have stated that offenses are not 'lesser' if they carry the same penalty." Id. at 927 (emphasis added). The Second District Court of Appeal has similarly stated the Carpenter rule. Kurtz v. State, 564 So.2d 519, 522 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990) ("Finally, it seems clear that neither crime is a 'lesser offense' because the two carry the same penalty."), disapproved on other grounds, Novaton v. State, 634 So.2d 607 (Fla.1994) (double jeopardy issue).
2
Second, one of the basic underlying policy reasons for allowing a jury to convict on a lesser included offense is that it allows a jury, in the proper case, to exercise its "pardon" power by acquitting the defendant of the charged offense and convicting the defendant of a lesser offense. State v. Wimberly, 498 So.2d 929, 932 (Fla.1986) ("The requirement that a trial judge must give a requested instruction on a necessarily lesser included offense is bottomed upon a recognition of the jury's right to exercise its 'pardon power.' "); State v. Bruns, 429 So.2d 307, 310 (Fla.1983); State v. Abreau, 363 So.2d 1063, 1064 (Fla.1978). The exercise of such a "pardon" power necessarily presupposes that the lesser offense carries a lesser penalty, else a conviction on a lesser offense could hardly constitute a "pardon." In recognition of this power, the Florida Supreme Court has stated that lesser included offenses "give[ ] the jury an opportunity to convict of an offense with less severe punishment than the crime charged." State v. Baker, 456 So.2d 419, 422 (Fla.1984).
Another underlying policy reason for lesser included offenses — which is related to the "jury pardon" rationale — is that the procedure allows a jury, which is otherwise hung on the ultimate issue of guilt or innocence, to compromise its internal differences by finding the defendant guilty of a lesser offense. Those jurors leaning toward an outright acquittal may, accordingly, be persuaded to convict on an offense which is less serious than the charged offense; and those jurors leaning toward conviction on the charged offense may be persuaded to convict on a less serious charge rather than risk a hung jury. Central to this process, however, is the implicit understanding that the lesser offense is, in fact, less serious in terms of penalty than the charged offense, else no real compromise can take place.
3
Third, lesser included offenses have historically been considered offenses which carry a lesser penalty than the charged offense. As noted in Brown v. State, 206 So.2d 377 (Fla.1968),
"[Lesser included offenses are] as old as the common law. Indeed, Blaekstone tells us that there were recognized degrees of guilt which distinguished the seriousness of offenses, and hence the punishment, even among the Gothic and Roman predecessors of the common law. Blackstone's Commentaries, Lewis ed. Vol. 2, 1587 (1898). We are similarly told that at common law, a jury may 'convict of a cognate offense [sic] of the same character but of a less aggravated nature, if the words of the indictment are wide enough to cover such an offense [sic].' Halsbury's, Laws of England, 2nd ed., Vol. IX, p. 175."
Id. at 380 (emphasis added). This practice has continued to the present time as the universal understanding of the bench and bar has long been that lesser offenses carry lesser penalties, else they are not lesser offenses. Indeed, this is the first case of which we are aware wherein anyone has ever challenged this historical understanding; not surprisingly, we have not been cited to, nor has our independent research revealed, a single case in Florida or elsewhere which has ever suggested or held that a lesser included offense may carry the same penalty as the charged offense.
In view of this long-standing practice, we agree with the defendant that it gravely misleads the jury for a trial court, as here, to instruct the jury on an attempt as a lesser offense when it carries the same penalty as the charged offense. It is certainly reasonable to assume that the jury below thought it was giving the defendant a fair "break" by acquitting him on the charged burglary and convicting him on the lesser attempt charge when, in fact, it was not. This is so because (1) the uncontradicted evidence in this record clearly establishes that the defendant was guilty of a technical completed burglary, not an attempted burglary, as defined by the trial court's straightforward jury instructions, and (2) the burglary was, arguably, not of an aggravated character as the defendant was unsuccessful in making a getaway, the burglarized structure was not damaged, and the defendant returned the property he had stolen. Had the jury known that attempted burglary was really not a "lesser" in terms of penalty, it might very well have convicted the defendant of trespass, as also instructed by the trial court, because trespass does, in fact, carry a lesser penalty than the charged burglary.
4
Finally, based on this authority, policy, and historical practice, it is not surprising that the Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions (Criminal), in drafting the Schedule of Lesser Included Offenses for Florida Supreme Court approval, laid down, inter alia, the following criterion for all lesser included offenses:
"In determining the appropriate lesser offenses for inclusion in the table, the committee followed certain guidelines:
1. No offense is deemed to be a lesser offense if it carries the same penalty as the crime under consideration. See Ray v. State, 403 So.2d 956 (Fla.1981); State v. Carpenter, 417 So.2d 986 (Fla.1982)."
In re Std. Jury Instr. in Crim. Cases, 543 So.2d 1205, 1232 (Fla.1989) (app. exhibit 10) (emphasis added). Previously, the Florida Supreme Court had approved an earlier version of this schedule, In re Use by Trial Courts of Std. Jury Instr. in Crim. Cases, 431 So.2d 594, 597 (Fla.), modified, 431 So.2d 599 (Fla.1981), as being "presumptively correct and complete," Ray v. State, 403 So.2d 956, 961 n. 7 (Fla.1981), and as to the new version, a similar presumptive approval was given. In re Std. Jury Instr. in Crim. Cases, 543 So.2d at 1208.
Unfortunately, the above penalty criterion was — we think inadvertently — not followed by the Committee in one respect in drafting the schedule of lesser included offenses, namely, as to burglary of an unoccupied structure [§ 810.02(3), Fla.Stat. (1991)] under which attempt [§§ 777.04(4)(c), 810.02(3), Fla.Stat. (1991) ] is listed as a category 2 lesser included offense, although both offenses are third-degree felonies and carry the same penalty. Id. at 1237. Because the penalty criterion was not followed, however, the trial court was not bound by this erroneous listing and neither is the Florida Supreme Court or this court. Such a listing is only "presumptively" correct, and, in this case, it is clearly wrong.
III
In sum, then, we conclude that the trial court committed reversible error in instructing the jury, over objection, on attempted burglary of an unoccupied structure under an information charging the defendant with burglary of an unoccupied structure. Such an attempt is not a category 2 permissive lesser included offense because it carries the same penalty as the charged offense. We find no merit, however, in the defendant's remaining point on appeal.
The defendant's conviction for attempted burglary is reversed, and the cause is remanded for a new trial on the necessarily included offense of simple trespass [§ 810.08(1), Fla.Stat. (1991) ]. The defendant's two misdemeanor convictions and sentences for petit theft and resisting an officer without violence are affirmed.
Affirmed in part; reversed in part and remanded.
BARKDULL, J., concurs.
. State v. Bruns, 429 So.2d 307 (Fla.1983), relied on by the state, does not announce a contrary rule. In that case, the Court held that an attempt is different from other lesser included offenses solely for purposes of the Abreau harmless error rule. The Court never states or suggests in its opinion that an attempt may be a proper lesser offense, even if it carries the same penalty as the charged offense, as the issue was never before the Court.
. We recognize that Fla.Stand.Jury Instr. (Crim.) 2.02(a) authorizes the jury to consider a lesser included offense only if it decides that the charged offense has not been proved beyond a reasonable doubt, which, as the dissent correctly points out, seems to preclude a "jury pardon"; indeed, nowhere in the standard jury instructions is the jury ever instructed that it has the power of a "pardon." However, our law has always been somewhat schizophrenic on this point because in the juiy's de facto power to find a defendant guilty of a lesser included offense, Florida law has always recognized that the jury, in fact, has a pardon power. This is so because we routinely accept — and do not set aside based on misconduct — a verdict where the jury has, in effect, ignored this instruction and found the defendant guilty of a lesser included offense, although it may be convinced based on highly persuasive evidence [and, indeed, such evidence may be uncontradicted] that the charged offense was, in fact, committed; we call such a verdict a "jury pardon" and do not disturb it. This long-standing practice may not be intellectually satisfying to legal purists, but, on the other hand, it allows juries to do substantial justice in extenuating circumstances, something which our law has always prized.
. See State v. Ferreira, 8 Haw.App. 1, 791 P.2d 407, cert. denied, 71 Haw. 668, 833 P.2d 901 (1990); State v. Thomas, 40 Ohio St.3d 213, 533 N.E.2d 286 (1988), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 826, 110 S.Ct. 89, 107 L.Ed.2d 54 (1989); State v. Ogden, 35 Or.App. 91, 580 P.2d 1049 (1978); see also State v. Sawyer, 227 Conn. 566, 630 A.2d 1064, 1074 (1993) (Katz, J., dissenting and authorities cited therein); Harrell v. State, 194 So.2d 306 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967) (no inquiry into jury deliberations even where verdict might have resulted from compromise); State v. Marhal, 172 Wis.2d 491, 493 N.W.2d 758, 763 (1992) (same), rev. denied, - Wis.2d -, 497 N.W.2d 131 (1993).
. The testimony adduced below establishes that the defendant trespassed into the complainant's backyard, unlawfully reached into the complainant's hurricane-damaged tool shed, and took out some hedge clippers with the obvious intent of stealing same; it was only after the defendant noticed that a neighbor was watching, that he put the clippers back in the shed. There was no evidence that the defendant tried, but was unsuccessful in reaching into the tool shed; he, in fact, did enter the tool shed with his hand with larcenous intent which amounts to a completed bur-glarious entry of an unoccupied structure. § 810.02(3), Fla.Stat. (1991). It is well settled that the insertion of any part of the defendant's body into a protected structure with larcenous intent, as here, is a completed burglary. See, e.g., State v. Spearman, 366 So.2d 775 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). The mere fact that the defendant replaced the clippers when caught red-handed does not change this result. More to the point, however, this scenario cannot possibly amount to an attempted burglary under any view of the evidence; the defendant did not, as required by the attempt statute, "attempt[] to commit an offense prohibited by law [i.e. a burglary] and in such attempt [did] an[] act toward the commission of such offense, but fail[ed] in the perpetration or [was] intercepted or prevented in the execution of the same-" § 777.04(1), Fla.Stat. (1991) (emphasis added). The defendant was only thwarted in his effort to escape, not in his effort to commit a burglary which, in fact, he committed.
As an aside, this failure of proof on the lesser offense of attempted burglary is another reason why the jury instruction on attempted burglary should not have been given by the trial court. Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.510(a) expressly provides that the "[t]he judge shall not instruct the jury [on an attempt to commit the charged offense] if there is no evidence to support the attempt and the only evidence proves a completed offense." We agree with the state, however, that this point was not properly preserved for appellate review because the defense counsel did not object in the trial court to a jury charge on attempt based on this ground. Moreover, it cannot be a fundamental error because this court has held — over a strong dissent, see also Howard v. State, 538 So.2d 980 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989) (Schwartz, J. concurring)— that even where the defendant properly objects to a jury instruction on an attempt to commit the charged offense of burglary on the ground that there is no evidence to support such an attempt and the only evidence shows a completed burglary, the error in giving the instruction is not reversible if, as here, the jury convicts on the attempt offense and there is sufficient evidence to support a conviction on the completed burglary. Jones v. State, 492 So.2d 1124 (Fla. 3d DCA), rev. denied, 501 So.2d 1282 (Fla.1986). Obviously, if the error is not reversible when the point is preserved for appellate review as in Jones, it cannot be reversible if the error is not preserved for appellate review as here.
. The dissent misperceives the real world when it dismisses all this as speculation and assumes that a jury does not consider a "lesser" offense as lesser in terms of penalty in deciding whether to convict a defendant on a lesser offense; obviously, this is a crucial factor when, as here, the jury exercises its pardon power and finds the defendant guilty of a lesser offense. Nor is it any answer, as the dissent suggests, for the defendant to object to the word "lesser" in the standard jury instruction on lesser included offenses; "lesser" is a perfectly proper term in this jury instruction because an attempt to commit the charged offense is, in fact, a lesser included offense. Weller; see Caulder v. State, 500 So.2d 1362 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986), rev. denied, 511 So.2d 297 (Fla.1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 1068, 108 S.Ct. 1033, 98 L.Ed.2d 997 (1988); Budd v. State, 477 So.2d 52 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985); Bufford v. State, 473 So.2d 795 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985); Silvestri v. State, 332 So.2d 351 (Fla. 4th DCA), approved, 340 So.2d 928 (Fla.1976).
We do, however, agree with the dissent's alternative argument that the jury, in all likelihood, did not consider the instant offense to be an aggravated-type burglary and this factor undoubtedly played an important role in the jury's decision to convict the defendant on the "lesser" offense of attempted burglary; such a consideration, nonetheless, is part and parcel of the normal "pardon power" reasoning process in which lay juries typically engage when trying to reach substantial justice in a given case, notwithstanding the defendant's technical commission, as here, of the charged offense under the trial court's jury instructions. Perhaps, as the dissent suggests, some or all the jurors may have misunderstood these instructions, but this is also part of the "jury pardon" process, as lay jurors at times give their own gloss to jury instructions in the context of a given case in an effort, as here, to give a fair "break" to the defendant. We agree that this process is perhaps a bit messy and is certainly not subject to mathematical precision after the fact, but experienced jury observers, including judges and lawyers who have spent a lifetime in and around the criminal courts, have long accepted the jury "pardon power" process as a living reality in our law which achieves substantial justice and is well worth preserving. In short, our analysis of the jury's reasoning process in this case as an aborted "jury pardon" is entirely reasonable based on this record.
. Contrary to the dissent's analysis, this criterion is not limited to completed offenses as there is no such limiting language stated therein; the citation to the Ray and Carpenter cases was obviously meant as illustrative of this criterion, not as somehow excluding attempts as the dissent concludes.
. The dissent concludes, based on its reading of Ray v. State, 403 So.2d 956 (Fla.1981), that a category 2 "pure" permissive lesser offense requires, as the established law and practice dictates, that the offense carry a lesser penalty than the charged offense, 658 So.2d 1084, 1085, but that, contrary to the above analysis, this requirement is not applicable to a category 2 attempt lesser offense. An attempt lesser offense, according to the dissent, stands in a special category apart from all other lesser offenses and is therefore exempt from the lesser penalty requirement applicable to all other lesser offenses. We cannot agree. There is no principled reason to carve out such an exception for this one type of category 2 permissive lesser offense when, as here, the law, policy, and historical practice has always been to treat uniformly all lesser included offenses as lesser penalty offenses. Moreover, the fact that Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.510(b) does not expressly provide that an attempt lesser offense must carry a lesser penalty than the main offense — the centerpiece of the dissent's effort to justify such an exception — is of no moment because this requirement is read into the rule as a matter of judicial implication; contrary to the dissent's contention throughout its analysis, an "attempt" under Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.510(b) is not exclusively defined by the attempt statute [§ 777.04, Fla.Stat. (1991)], hut may also, in our view, be supplemented by caselaw for lesser included offense purposes. Indeed, none of the lesser included offense rules, Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.510, 3.490, contain an express penalty requirement; yet, as the dissent agrees, a penalty requirement is read into the rule as a matter of judicial implication for a category 2 "pure" permissive lesser offense, and apparently all other lesser offenses as well. The dissent gives no principled reason why the same result does not obtain with respect to an attempt lesser offense— only a flawed technical reason which leads to a result that, we think, makes little sense as it is contrary to the thrust of the existing caselaw, the basic underlying policy reasons for lesser includ ed offenses, and long-standing historical practice.