Opinion ID: 2050910
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: dicta

Text: The question in this case is whether a trial court may instruct the jury sua sponte on a lesser-included offense, where the State does not request and the defendant objects to that instruction. The case upon which the majority primarily relies, People v. Taylor, 36 Ill.2d 483, 224 N.E.2d 266 (1967), in no way resolves this issue. In Taylor, the defendant was convicted of murder. On appeal, he argued that, because the evidence would have supported a manslaughter conviction, the trial court was required to give that instruction sua sponte even though he did not request it. In rejecting the defendant's argument, this court explained that, when the evidence in a murder case would support a verdict of manslaughter, and the defendant does not request a manslaughter instruction, the giving of such an instruction is committed to the discretion of the trial judge. (Emphasis added.) Taylor, 36 Ill.2d at 489, 224 N.E.2d 266. Because the trial court was not required to give a manslaughter instruction and since the defendant did not request one, there [was] no error of which he can complain. Taylor, 36 Ill.2d at 491, 224 N.E.2d 266. Consequently, the defendant's murder conviction was affirmed. Taylor, 36 Ill.2d at 492, 224 N.E.2d 266. This decision represented no more than an application of the familiar procedural rule that error cannot be assigned in a reviewing court with respect to a matter upon which the trial court was not called upon to rule. Taylor, 36 Ill.2d at 489, 224 N.E.2d 266. The majority does a great deal of block-quoting from Taylor (188 Ill.2d at 280-85, 242 Ill.Dec. at 303-06, 721 N.E.2d at 582-85), but the quoted portions of Taylor are, without exception, pure dicta. In Taylor, no instruction was given because the defendant did not request one. Taylor `s holding is that, where a defendant does not request an instruction on an uncharged lesser-included offense, he cannot challenge on appeal the trial court's failure to give that instruction. Consequently, Taylor 's extended discussion of the trial court's authority to give or withhold a lesser-included offense instruction, whether at a defendant's request or over a defendant's objection, is dicta and therefore not binding in this case. See Geer v. Kadera, 173 Ill.2d 398, 414, 219 Ill.Dec. 525, 671 N.E.2d 692 (1996).