Opinion ID: 867429
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Requirements for Lesser-Included Offense Instructions

Text: ¶ 13 Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 23.3 requires the trial judge to provide the jury with verdict forms for all offenses necessarily included in the offense charged, an attempt to commit the offense charged or an offense necessarily included therein, if such attempt is an offense. If requested to do so and the evidence supports it, the trial judge must also instruct the jurors on all offenses necessarily included in the offense charged. Ariz. R.Crim. P. 21.3(c) cmt.; State v. Celaya, 135 Ariz. 248, 251, 660 P.2d 849, 852 (1983). ¶ 14 Although the terms are often used interchangeably, a lesser included offense is not always a necessarily included offense for purposes of Rule 23.3. State v. Dugan, 125 Ariz. 194, 195, 608 P.2d 771, 772 (1980). An offense is lesser included when the greater offense cannot be committed without necessarily committing the lesser offense. Id. But an offense is necessarily included, and so requires that a jury instruction be given, only when it is lesser included and the evidence is sufficient to support giving the instruction. Id. In other words, if the facts of the case as presented at trial are such that a jury could reasonably find that only the elements of a lesser offense have been proved, the defendant is entitled to have the judge instruct the jury on the lesser-included offense. Id. (citing Sansone v. United States, 380 U.S. 343, 351, 85 S.Ct. 1004, 13 L.Ed.2d 882 (1965)). ¶ 15 In this case, Wall maintains that the trial court should have given an attempted theft instruction because attempted theft is a lesser-included offense of attempted robbery and evidence in the record would have supported a finding of attempted theft. Arizona law defines theft as knowingly [c]ontrol[ling] property of another with the intent to deprive the other person of [the] property. A.R.S. § 13-1802(A)(1). Robbery adds the additional elements that the property must be taken from a person or [the person's] immediate presence, and the taking must involve the use or threat of force to coerce the surrender of the property. A.R.S. § 13-1902(A) (2001). Under our statutory scheme, theft is thus a lesser-included offense of robbery because the greater offense of robbery cannot occur unless a theft also occurs. Celaya, 135 Ariz. at 252, 660 P.2d at 853. Similarly, attempted theft is a lesser-included offense of attempted robbery. See State v. Felix, 153 Ariz. 417, 420, 737 P.2d 393, 396 (App.1986). ¶ 16 The rule requiring instruction on lesser-included offenses is designed to prevent a jury from convicting a defendant of a crime, even if all of its elements have not been proved, simply because the jury believes the defendant committed some crime. As the Supreme Court explained: Where one of the elements of the offense charged remains in doubt, but the defendant is plainly guilty of some offense, the jury is likely to resolve its doubts in favor of conviction. Beck v. Alabama, 447 U.S. 625, 634, 100 S.Ct. 2382, 65 L.Ed.2d 392 (1980) (quoting Keeble v. United States, 412 U.S. 205, 212-13, 93 S.Ct. 1993, 36 L.Ed.2d 844 (1973)). Giving a lesser-included offense instruction mitigates that risk. Id. at 637, 100 S.Ct. 2382. ¶ 17 Arizona cases have consistently required a lesser-included offense instruction if it is supported by the evidence. See Celaya, 135 Ariz. at 253, 660 P.2d at 854 (Since the evidence before the jury would have supported a conviction of theft and an acquittal of robbery, Celaya was entitled to the requested lesser-included instruction.); Dugan, 125 Ariz. at 196, 608 P.2d at 773 (to same effect); State v. McPhaul, 174 Ariz. 561, 564, 851 P.2d 860, 863 (App.1992) (to same effect). ¶ 18 We deem evidence sufficient to require a lesser-included offense instruction if two conditions are met. The jury must be able to find (a) that the State failed to prove an element of the greater offense and (b) that the evidence is sufficient to support a conviction on the lesser offense. State v. Caldera, 141 Ariz. 634, 636-37, 688 P.2d 642, 644-45 (1984). It is not enough that, as a theoretical matter, the jury might simply disbelieve the state's evidence on one element of the crime because this would require instructions on all offenses theoretically included in every charged offense. Id. at 637, 688 P.2d at 645 (quoting State v. Schroeder, 95 Ariz. 255, 259, 389 P.2d 255, 258 (1964)). Instead, the evidence must be such that a rational juror could conclude that the defendant committed only the lesser offense. Id. Whether attempted theft in this case was a necessarily included offense requiring a jury instruction thus turns on the sufficiency of evidence to support the attempted theft instruction.