Opinion ID: 2208613
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Lesser-Included Offense Doctrine.

Text: This case presents us with an opportunity to reexamine our approach to the lesser-included offense doctrine. This subject is fraught with confusion because of the doctrine's elusiveness in its definition and application. Adding to this confusion is the interplay between the doctrine and several constitutional principles. See Blair, Constitutional Limitations on the Lesser-Included Offense Doctrine, 21 Am.Crim.L. Rev. 445, 446 (1984). Generally, the doctrine allows a trier of fact to convict a defendant of an offense less serious than the one charged. Id. at 445. Rooted in sixteenth-century English common law, the doctrine found its way into American jurisprudence in the late 1700's. Ettinger, In Search of a Reasoned Approach to the Lesser-Included Offense, 50 Brooklyn L.Rev. 191, 195 (1984). Historically, the doctrine developed to implement the policy at common law against multiple trials for the same allegations of illegal conduct. The doctrine eventually evolved as an aid to the prosecution when there was a failure of proof of some element necessary for conviction of the offense charged. Mascolo, Procedural Due Process And the Lesser-Included Offense Doctrine, 50 Alb.L.Rev. 263, 265-66 (1986). Today, the defense, more often than the prosecution, is likely to seek the doctrine's application as a hedge against conviction of the greater offense. Barnett, The Lesser-Included Offense Doctrine: A Present Day Analysis For Practitioners, 5 Conn. L.Rev. 255, 255-56 (1972). In applying the doctrine, courts must ask two questions: what is a lesser-included offense, and when should a trial court instruct on it. Koenig, The Many-Headed Hydra of Lesser-Included Offenses: A Herculean Task for the Michigan Courts, 1975 Det.C.L.Rev. 41, 43. A. Defining the lesser-included offense. The commentators agree that the definition of a lesser-included offense is a conceptual one. This is so because the doctrine is based on a relationship between the elements of at least two separate crimes. Barnett, 5 Conn.L.Rev. at 256; Comment, The Lesser-Included Offense Doctrine in Iowa: The Gordian Knot Untied, 59 Iowa L.Rev. 684, 684 (1974). Courts have generally adopted any one of three approaches and, in some cases, a combination of these approaches to define a lesser-included offense. This phenomenon has caused much of the confusion surrounding the doctrine. Blair, 21 Am.Crim. L.Rev. at 447. The three approaches have been denominated the common-law or strict statutory-elements approach, the cognate approach, and the Model Penal Code approach. Id. at 447-51. 1. The common-law or strict statutory-elements approach. The common-law or strict statutory-elements approach employs the following definition of a lesser-included offense: `To be necessarily included in the greater offense the lesser must be such that it is impossible to commit the greater without first having committed the lesser.' Comment, Jury Instructions on Lesser-Included Offenses, 57 Nw.U.L.Rev. 62, 62 (1962). This approach simply looks to the elements of the main and lesser crimes as set out by the applicable statutes, rather than to the charge or the evidence. Ettinger, 50 Brooklyn L.Rev. at 198. In employing this mechanical approach, a court places the applicable statutes side by side and examines their elements in the abstract. Id. at 198-99. The comparison must produce a nearly perfect match. If the lesser offense contains an element that is not part of the greater offense, the lesser cannot be included in the greater. Id. at 199; see also Government of the Virgin Islands v. Smith, 558 F.2d 691, 696 (3rd Cir.) (applying strict statutory-elements approach), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 957, 98 S.Ct. 486, 54 L.Ed.2d 316 (1977); State v. Zdiarstek, 53 Wis.2d 776, 785-86, 193 N.W.2d 833, 838 (1972) (same). While described as the easiest of the three approaches to apply, the strict statutory-elements approach has been criticized as inherently inflexible. Blair, 21 Am. Crim.L.Rev. at 447. For example, although the facts of the case may establish a less serious, but merely related, offense, the less serious offense cannot be considered by the trier of fact because it fails to meet the statutory test. The elements of the offense rather than the facts of the case are the chief concern under this approach. According to one commentator, [t]he rigid results mandated by the strict statutory interpretation theory conflict with a principal function of the lesser-included offense doctrine, which is to `[e]nable the jury to correlate more closely the criminal conviction with the act committed.' Id. at 448-49. 2. The cognate approach. In response to the rigidity of the strict statutory-elements approach, a number of jurisdictions have opted for the more liberal cognate approach. This approach is recognized as the majority view. Koenig, 1975 Det.C.L.Rev. at 43. Under the cognate approach, a defendant may be convicted of a lesser offense that, under the strict statutory-elements approach, is not necessarily committed in the course of committing the greater offense. The lesser offense is related and, hence, cognate in the sense that it has several elements in common with the greater offense but may have one or two elements not essential to the greater crime. Comment, 57 Nw.U.L.Rev. at 62-63. In applying the cognate approach, courts have used two methods. One, the cognate-pleadings method, involves examining the facts alleged in the accusatory pleading rather than just the statutory elements of the offense. Blair, 21 Am.Crim. L.Rev. at 449; see also United States v. Stavros, 597 F.2d 108, 112 (7th Cir.1979) (applying the cognate-pleadings method); State v. Brown, 163 Conn. 52, 61-62, 301 A.2d 547, 552-53 (1972) (same); Commonwealth v. Stots, 227 Pa.Super. 279, 281-83, 324 A.2d 480, 481-82 (1974) (same). The other, the cognate-evidence method, focuses on the evidence supporting the charge rather than on the statutory elements or the accusatory pleading. Blair, 21 Am. Crim.L.Rev. at 449; see also State v. Boyenger, 95 Idaho 396, 400-01, 509 P.2d 1317, 1321-22 (1973) (applying the cognate-evidence method); People v. Beach, 429 Mich. 450, 464-65, 418 N.W.2d 861, 867-68 (1988) (applying the cognate-evidence method in addition to strict statutory-elements approach). The criticism leveled at the cognate-pleadings method is that the prosecution can control the language of the accusatory pleading and thus limit lesser-included offenses. See Blair, 21 Am.Crim.L.Rev. at 449. In contrast to the criticism of the strict statutory-elements approach, the cognate-evidence method has been criticized as too flexible. See Koenig, 1975 Det.C.L. Rev. at 45. As a result of this undue flexibility, the cognate-evidence method may, in cases in which the possible lesser-included offenses could be numerous, put the defendant at an unfair disadvantage. He will either have to prepare to defend against all the possible lesser-included offenses, or else take the risk of only preparing to defend against the charged offense. This disadvantage, however, is not unique to the defendant. The prosecution must also in such cases be prepared for all the possible lesser-included offenses, in the event the defense seeks to have the jury charged on one or more of them. Blair, 21 Am.Crim.L.Rev. at 450. 3. The Model Penal Code approach. The third approach is advocated by the Model Penal Code: A defendant may be convicted of an offense included in the offense charged in the indictment [or the information]. An offense is so included when: (a) it is established by proof of the same or less than all the facts required to establish the commission of the offense charged; or (b) it consists of an attempt or solicitation to commit the offense charged or to commit an offense otherwise included therein; or (c) it differs from the offense charged only in the respect that a less serious injury or risk of injury to the same person, property or public interest or a lesser kind of culpability suffices to establish its commission. Model Penal Code § 1.07(4) (Proposed Official Draft 1962). Subsection (c) of the rule presents a novel and broad test for determining when a lesser offense exists. Blair, 21 Am.Crim.L.Rev. at 450. One federal appeals court has embraced this approach as providing a more natural, realistic and sound interpretation of the scope of `lesser-included offense.' United States v. Whitaker, 447 F.2d 314, 319 (D.C.Cir.1971). In adopting the Model Penal Code approach the court did impose a limitation that there must also be an inherent relationship between the greater and lesser offenses, i.e., they must relate to the protection of the same interests, and must be so related that in the general nature of these crimes, though not necessarily invariably, proof of the lesser offense is necessarily presented as part of the showing of the commission of the greater offense. Id. Thus, the limitation requires that the two offenses must be related in the sense that they protect the same interest. Additionally, the limitation requires that the relationship should be so close that the same evidence establishing the greater offense would necessarily show the commission of the lesser. The limitation is intended to preclude abuse of the lesser-included offense doctrine by defense counsel seeking to appeal to the jury's sense of mercy by requesting instructions on every lesser offense arguably established by the evidence. United States v. Johnson, 637 F.2d 1224, 1239 (9th Cir.1980). The Model Penal Code approach as limited by Whitaker has been described in subsequent cases adopting it as the inherent relationship test. See Johnson, 637 F.2d at 1238; United States v. Pino, 606 F.2d 908, 916 (10th Cir.1979). The test has been described as conceptually related to the cognate-evidence approach. Mascolo, 50 Alb.L.Rev. at 274 n. 45. After following the lead of Whitaker in a divided panel decision, see United States v. Schmuck, 776 F.2d 1368, 1371 (7th Cir. 1985), the seventh circuit court of appeals, sitting en banc, reconsidered and rejected the inherent relationship test. See United States v. Schmuck, 840 F.2d 384, 387 (7th Cir.), cert. granted, ___ U.S. ___, 108 S.Ct. 1727, 100 L.Ed.2d 192 (1988); see also United States v. Rein, 848 F.2d 777, 783 (7th Cir.1988). It is interesting to note that the seventh circuit embraced the strict statutory-elements approach in applying the federal criminal procedure rule on lesser-included offenses, 31(c). The court's most persuasive argument against the approach adopted by Whitaker centered on its lack of certainty and predictability and on its potential for abuse. Schmuck, 840 F.2d at 389-90. One author has similarly criticized the Whitaker approach: Since [the inherent relationship] theory is even broader than the cognate theory, the flexibility objection is greater. Because the elements of the offenses need not be the same, but need only have an inherent relationship, the possible range of lesser-included offenses is even greater under this theory than under the cognate theory. Blair, 21 Am.Crim.L.Rev. at 451. Several courts see the inherent relationship test as a usurpation of the State's discretionary authority to prosecute an individual for a particular offense. See, e.g., People v. Harman, 125 Ill.App.3d 338, 343, 80 Ill.Dec. 663, 667-668, 465 N.E.2d 1009, 1013-14 (1984) (test rejected). Others see it as counterproductive because the test makes it nearly impossible to formulate general governing principles. Howard v. State, 578 S.W.2d 83, 84 (Tenn.1979) (test rejected). The ultimate fear is that the test would result in confusion for the jury and frustration of the judicial process. Id. at 84-85. B. Determining when a trial court should instruct on a lesser-included offense. Having decided which approach to use to define a lesser-included offense, a court is then left with the question of when to instruct on such an offense. Two basic theories underlie the approaches courts have taken to this question. One theory considers it a jury function to determine when a lesser-included offense exists; the other considers it a court function. 1. Jury function theory. The jury function theory operates from the premise that a not guilty plea controverts all elements of the offense and requires that the State prove the elements beyond a reasonable doubt. It also recognizes that the jury may reject all or any part of the State's evidence, whether controverted or not. Logically then, the possibility of finding a lesser-included offense is always present. See Barnett, 5 Conn.L.Rev. at 274; Comment, 57 Nw.U.L.Rev. at 66. Stated another way, if the evidence is sufficient to convict on the greater offense then, as a matter of law, it is sufficient to convict on any lesser-included offense. Beach, 429 Mich. at 464, 418 N.W.2d at 867. Thus, even though the only evidence is presented by the State, a logical application of the lesser-included offense doctrine requires an instruction on the lesser-included offenses to be given always. The result is the same when only one witness testifies for the State, or when the defendant presents no evidence, testifies but denies culpability, asserts an alibi defense, or claims insanity. The net effect is that a conviction of the lesser-included offense [is] possible regardless of the state of the evidence. Comment, 57 Nw.U.L.Rev. at 67; see also Fike v. State, 255 Ark. 956, 959, 504 S.W.2d 363, 365 (1974) (applying jury function theory); Brown, 163 Conn. at 60-61, 301 A.2d at 552 (same); State v. Peterson, 290 So.2d 307, 311 (La.1974) (same); Beach, 429 Mich. at 461-65, 418 N.W.2d at 866-68 (describing the jury function theory in conjunction with strict statutory-elements approach). 2. Court function theory. Courts that have chosen to employ the court function theory have not disputed the logic of the jury function theory. They have, however, chosen to ignore it. Instead, they have required evidence of a lesser-included offense as a practical compromise between two considerations: the prosecution's fear that juries will reach compromise verdicts and the defendant's fear that a jury will convict on insufficient evidence rather than let a defendant they believe guilty of some wrongdoing go free. Comment, 57 Nw.U.L.Rev. at 68. Absent a fact question as to at least one of the elevating elements of the greater offense, a trial court, where the court function theory is used, may not submit a lesser-included offense instruction. The trial court evaluates the record and determines whether such a fact question is generated. Such evidence may come from either the State or the defendant. McColl, Lesser-Included Offenses in Federal Court, 44 Tex. B.J. 308, 309 (1981). Proponents of the court function theory argue that it may seem the trial court is weighing the evidence as a fact-finder. But, the argument continues, the trial court's assessment of the evidence is merely for the purpose of determining whether to submit the lesser-included offense instruction, a determination that is a law question. See State v. Williford, 103 Wis. 2d 98, 112, 307 N.W.2d 277, 283 (1981). The court function theory also differs from the jury function theory in how a defense is considered. Under the court function theory, when an alibi or insanity defense is used or the defendant presents no defense at all, a lesser-included offense instruction is precluded, provided that no evidence appears in the record to controvert the elevating element in any way. Comment, 57 Nw.U.L.Rev. at 66; see also Johnson, 637 F.2d at 1241; State v. Ramos, 108 Ariz. 36, 38, 492 P.2d 697, 699 (1972); Marable v. State, 154 Ga.App. 115, 116, 267 S.E.2d 837, 838 (1980). Critics of the court function theory point out that [e]ven though the uncontroverted evidence shows only the greater offense, the determination that this decrees only the greater offense puts the judge in the fact-finding position. The invasion of the jury province becomes clearer when the total picture is viewedthat is, if it is seen in relation to the many times when instructions on included offenses are given, even though the evidence is uncontroverted. Thus, if a judge believes a witness, or dislikes a defendant, or dislikes the crime involved, instructions on lesser offenses are not given. If the judge is sympathetic to the defendant, or tends to doubt the testimony, or [does not] believe the type of case involved should be a crime, [the judge] does give instruction[s] on lesser offenses. Or perhaps one judge always gives included offense instructions, while another never does. In this regard, the judge becomes the juror. And it is this lack of standards which is so offensive to due process, and where the function of judge and jury intermingles. Koenig, 1975 Det.C.L.Rev. at 63-64.