Opinion ID: 2594735
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Instructions on Lesser Included Offense

Text: Defendant contends the trial court committed reversible error when it did not, on its own motion, instruct the jury on (1) theft as a lesser offense necessarily included in the offense of robbery, (2) assault and battery as lesser included offenses of rape, and (3) unlawfully causing a fire to an inhabited structure as a lesser included offense of arson. He argues that because the special circumstance allegations against him found true by the jury were for robbery murder, rape murder, and arson murder, the alleged error requires the special circumstance findings to be set aside and the judgment of death reversed. A trial court must instruct the jury on a lesser included offense only when there is evidence that would justify a conviction of the lesser offense. ( People v. Avena, supra, 13 Cal.4th at p. 424, 53 Cal.Rptr.2d 301, 916 P.2d 1000; People v. Wilson, supra, 3 Cal.4th at pp. 941-942, 13 Cal.Rptr.2d 259, 838 P.2d 1212.) Earlier, 99 Cal.Rptr.2d at pages 514 to 515, 6 P.3d at pages 176 to 178, when we discussed defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, we rejected his contention that he was entitled to instructions on the lesser included offenses just mentioned, concluding that the evidence did not warrant such instructions. We reiterate that conclusion here.