Opinion ID: 1213794
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: General Entitlement To Included Offense Instructions

Text: [W]hen a defendant in a criminal case timely asks for a lesser included offense instruction to which he [or she] is entitled, it is reversible error not to give it. State v. Williams, 6 Haw.App. 17, 18, 708 P.2d 834, 835 (1985) (citing 2 Wright, Federal Procedure and Practice: Criminal 2d § 498 (1982)). On the other hand, a trial court is not obligated to charge the jury with respect to an included offense unless there is a rational basis in the evidence for a verdict acquitting the defendant of the offense charged and convicting him of the included offense. HRS § 701-109(5) (1985). State v. Kupau, 76 Hawai`i 387, 390, 879 P.2d 492, 495 (1994) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Indeed, in the absence of such a rational basis in the evidence, the trial court should not instruct the jury as to included offenses. See generally State v. Sneed, 68 Haw. 463, 718 P.2d 280 (1986). A fortiori, it is not error for a trial court to refuse  and the trial court should refrain from giving  an instruction regarding an uncharged offense that is not included, for purposes of the Hawai`i Penal Code, within the charged offense. See generally State v. Pukahi, 70 Haw. 456, 776 P.2d 392 (1989); State v. Freeman, 70 Haw. 434, 774 P.2d 888 (1989); State v. Burdett, 70 Haw. 85, 762 P.2d 164 (1988); State v. Woicek, 63 Haw. 548, 632 P.2d 654 (1981); State v. Kupau, 63 Haw. 1, 620 P.2d 250 (1980); State v. Rullman, No. 16389, slip op. at 7-8, ___ P.2d ___, ___-___ (Haw. Ct.App. May, 25, 1995); State v. Doi, 6 Haw. App. 115, 711 P.2d 736, cert. denied, 68 Haw. 692 (1985). Where there is such a rational basis in the evidence, however, we have held that it may be plain error [6] for a trial court to fail to give an included offense instruction even when neither the prosecution nor the defendant have requested it; [7] this is because the trial court is the sole source of all definitions and statements of law applicable to an issue to be resolved by the jury. Moreover, it is the duty of the circuit judge to see to it that the case goes to the jury in a clear and intelligent manner, so that they may have a clear and correct understanding of what it is they are to decide, and he or she shall state to them fully the law applicable to the facts. And faced with inaccurate or incomplete instructions, the trial court has a duty to, with the aid of counsel, either correct the defective instructions or to otherwise incorporate it into its own instructions. In other words, the ultimate responsibility properly to instruct the jury lies with the circuit court and not with trial counsel. . . . . Thus, in order to reconcile the competing interests of the prosecution and defendants, as well as to ensure that juries are appropriately instructed in criminal cases, we hold as follows: The trial judge must bring all included offense instructions that are supported by the evidence to the attention of the parties. The trial judge must then give each such instruction to the jury unless (1) the prosecution does not request that included instructions be given and (2) the defendant specifically objects to the included offense instructions for tactical reasons. If the prosecution does not make a request and the defendant makes a tactical objection, the trial judge must then exercise his or her discretion as to whether the included offense instructions should be given. The trial judge's discretion should be guided by the nature of the evidence presented during the trial, as well as the extent to which the defendant appears to understand the risks involved. Kupau, 76 Hawai`i at 394-96, 879 P.2d at 499-501 (citations, footnotes, internal quotation marks, and brackets omitted) (emphases in original).