Opinion ID: 741729
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Underlying First Degree Murder Conviction

Text: 33 One issue regarding application of law of the case remains: the underlying conviction for first degree murder. Under Washington law, a jury must find the defendant guilty of first degree murder before finding the defendant guilty of aggravated first degree murder. Wash.Rev.Code § 10.95.020 (1983). First degree murder is considered a lesser included offense of aggravated first degree murder. See State v. Pirtle, 127 Wash.2d 628, 904 P.2d 245, 263 (1995) (en banc), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 2568, 135 L.Ed.2d 1084 (1996). In the guilt phase of Jeffries' trial, the jury was instructed on the elements of first degree murder. 34 Jeffries III addressed only the aggravated first degree murder convictions and death sentences. 13 Jeffries III did not hold that the communication of extraneous information required the underlying conviction for first degree murder to be vacated. Jeffries III focused on the jury's special findings, which affected only the jury's decision to convict Jeffries of aggravated first degree murder and sentence him to death. Jeffries III decided that internal juror misconduct could be prejudicial in that context, vacated the grant of summary judgment on the issue, and remanded the case for further proceedings in the district court in light of Dickson. Jeffries III, 5 F.3d at 1198. 35 Jeffries' counsel acknowledged in a letter to the three-judge panel that strict application of law of the case under these circumstances might require sustaining the first degree murder conviction. Thus, to be true to our law of the case holding, we must reverse the portion of the district court's writ that vacates the underlying first degree murder conviction. 36