Opinion ID: 776501
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Lesser-Included Instruction Claim

Text: 33 Ghent argues that the trial court failed in its sua sponte duty to instruct the jury on the lesser-included offense of assault with intent to commit rape. The California Supreme Court rejected this claim, as did the district court. 34 A jury verdict of guilt of a capital offense may not stand if the jury is not instructed to consider whether the defendant was guilty of a lesser-included non-capital offense, when the evidence would have supported such a verdict. Beck v. Alabama, 447 U.S. 625, 627, 100 S.Ct. 2382, 65 L.Ed.2d 392 (1980); see also Keeble v. United States, 412 U.S. 205, 208, 93 S.Ct. 1993, 36 L.Ed.2d 844 (1973). If a Beck violation has occurred, the court must then determine whether the error had a substantial and injurious effect on the jury's deliberations and verdict. See Brecht, 507 U.S. at 638, 113 S.Ct. 1710. 35 With respect to the finding of felony murder, the jury was given the choice of finding Ghent guilty of either the felony of rape or the lesser-included felony of attempted rape. It was not, however, given the option of returning a verdict on the related lesser-included offense of assault with intent to commit rape. 12 Both rape and attempted rape are listed in the California penal code as crimes that give rise to the finding of felony murder. See Cal.Penal Code § 189. Although assault with intent to commit rape is not specifically listed in the statute, it constitutes an aggravated form of attempted rape, 13 and would therefore necessarily also support a finding of felony murder. See People v. Ghent, 43 Cal.3d 739, 239 Cal.Rptr. 82, 739 P.2d 1250, 1261 (1987). 36 For purposes of the felony murder doctrine, all three offenses have the same potential consequence — each can serve as a predicate for a felony-murder conviction. Because Ghent was convicted of the lesser lesser-included offense of attempted rape, he could not have benefitted had the jury been instructed to consider as well the greater lesser-included offense of assault with intent to commit rape. Therefore, even if we were to assume that the instruction on assault with intent to commit rape should have been given, it is evident that the trial court's failure to do so did not have any prejudicial or injurious effect on Ghent. See Brecht, 507 U.S. at 637, 113 S.Ct. 1710.