Opinion ID: 3167403
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: standard of review

Text: ¶13 We review for abuse of discretion a district court’s refusal to give an instruction on a lesser-included offense. State v. Johnson, 2008 MT 227, ¶ 12, 344 Mont. 313, 187 P.3d 662. A district court abuses its discretion if it acts arbitrarily without conscientious judgment or exceeds the bounds of reason. State v. McLaughlin, 2009 MT 211, ¶ 9, 351 Mont. 282, 210 P.3d 694. A district court has broad discretion when it instructs the jury; we review jury instructions in criminal cases to determine whether the instructions, as a whole, fully and fairly instruct the jury on the law applicable to the case. McLaughlin, ¶ 10.