Opinion ID: 884910
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: issues

Text: ¶ 37 Did the District Court err when it did not allow Beavers to argue an alternative theory that he committed reckless driving, even if it is not a lesser included offense of criminal endangerment? ¶ 38 Beavers maintains that a criminal defendant is entitled to jury instructions that cover every issue or theory having support in the evidence. See Gopher, 194 Mont. at 229, 633 P.2d at 1196. He argues that even if reckless driving is not an included offense of criminal endangerment, the District Court should have given his requested instruction on reckless driving as an alternative theory. Without an alternative theory, Beavers contends that the jury convicted him of criminal endangerment simply because they believed he was guilty of something, even if it was a lesser offense. Cf. United States v. Johnson (9th Cir.1980), 637 F.2d 1224, 1233. ¶ 39 However, Beavers misinterprets our decision in Gopher. This Court has consistently applied the rule of law set out in Gopher only as it relates to instructions on lesser included offenses, not alternative offenses. See, e.g., State v. Schmalz, 1998 MT 210, 290 Mont. 420, 964 P.2d 763; State v. Howell, 1998 MT 20, 287 Mont. 268, 954 P.2d 1102; State v. Castle (1997), 285 Mont. 363, 948 P.2d 688; State v. Gray (1983), 202 Mont. 445, 659 P.2d 255. The rule of law we apply to alternative offenses is that of prosecutorial discretion. See Schmalz, ¶ 9 (citing State v. Booke (1978), 178 Mont. 225, 230, 583 P.2d 405, 408). In Schmalz, we applied these different rules of law respectively to a lesser included offense argument and an alternative offense argument. As the law relates to an alternative offense, we stated that [w]here the facts of a case support a possible charge of more than one crime, the crime to be charged is a matter of prosecutorial discretion. Schmalz, ¶ 9. ¶ 40 We conclude that the District Court did not err when it did not allow Beavers to argue that he committed reckless driving as an alternative offense.