Opinion ID: 2211595
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: duty to instruct jury on lesser-included offense

Text: Dixon first contends that district court erred by failing to instruct the jury that it could find him guilty of the lesser-included offense of attempted second degree murder. We must therefore determine whether the district court was correct in instructing the jury on only attempted first degree murder or whether the evidence also warrants an instruction on the lesser-included offense of attempted second degree murder, notwithstanding Dixon's failure to request such an instruction. It is the duty of a trial judge to instruct the jury on the pertinent law of the case, whether requested to do so or not, and an instruction or instructions which by the omission of certain elements have the effect of withdrawing from the jury an essential issue or element in the case are prejudicially erroneous. State v. Brown, supra . Jury instructions must be read as a whole, and if they fairly present the law so that the jury could not be misled, there is not prejudicial error. Id. This court has delineated a two-step procedure for trial courts to follow when determining whether to instruct the jury on a lesser-included offense. See State v. Williams, 243 Neb. 959, 503 N.W.2d 561 (1993). In State v. Williams, 243 Neb. at 965, 503 N.W.2d at 566, we stated: [A] court must instruct on a lesser-included offense if (1) the elements of the lesser offense ... are such that one cannot commit the greater offense without simultaneously committing the lesser offense and (2) the evidence produces a rational basis for acquitting the defendant of the greater offense and convicting the defendant of the lesser offense. As charged in the present case, the statutory elements of attempted first degree murder are these: a substantial step in a course of conduct intended to culminate in the commission of a purposeful, malicious, premeditated killing of another person. Neb.Rev.Stat. §§ 28-201 and 28-303 (Reissue 1995). The statutory elements of attempted second degree murder are these: a substantial step in a course of conduct intended to culminate in the commission of an intentional killing of another person. § 28-201 and Neb.Rev.Stat. § 28-304 (Reissue 1995). Applying the Williams test, we held in State v. Al-Zubaidy, 253 Neb. 357, 570 N.W.2d 713 (1997), that attempted second degree murder is a lesser-included offense of attempted first degree murder. Having satisfied the initial inquiry of the Williams test, we now address the crucial question in this appeal as to whether the evidence in the instant case produces a rational basis for acquitting Dixon of attempted first degree murder and convicting him of the lesser-included offense of attempted second degree murder. State v. Al-Zubaidy, supra , is instructive. In State v. Al-Zubaidy , we determined that the evidence warranted an instruction on the lesser-included offense of attempted second degree murder. The sole evidence upon which we based our conclusion was the defendant's statement that he did not intend to kill the victim upon entering her residence. We determined that the defendant's statement made it possible for the jury to find that he went to the victim's home with no premeditation to kill, which entitled the defendant to a jury instruction on attempted second degree murder. Because the district court did not give such an instruction, we reversed Al-Zubaidy's conviction and remanded the cause for a new trial. Similarly, the evidence in the instant case provides a rational basis upon which the jury could have acquitted Dixon of attempted first degree murder and convicted him of attempted second degree murder. Vasa's testimony conveys that the trio retrieved the shotgun for the purposes of protection and intimidation after the first attempt to steal a car had gone awry. The trio did not know they would again be confronted by the owner of a car they were attempting to steal, but considered it prudent to have the shotgun in case they were. Further, Dixon maintained that he was just supposed to scare anyone who might discover them. Consistent therewith, after Bill Weiler shouted, Dixon shot just one time from over 70 feet away after a short verbal exchange. There is no doubt that a jury could reasonably infer from the foregoing evidence that Dixon possessed the requisite premeditation to be convicted of attempted first degree murder. The evidence, however, is also such that a jury could reasonably have drawn contrary inferences and concluded that Dixon did not possess the requisite premeditation for attempted first degree murder. Where the evidence and circumstances of a crime are such that different inferences may properly be drawn therefrom as to the degrees, it becomes the duty of the court to submit the different degrees to the jury for them to draw the inferences, whether requested to do so or not. State v. Ellis, 208 Neb. 379, 303 N.W.2d 741 (1981). The failure of the district court in this case to instruct the jury on attempted second degree murder precluded the jury from considering the lesser-included offense of attempted second degree murder, thereby creating the situation in which the jury had to either convict Dixon of attempted first degree murder or acquit him when the evidence at least supported an instruction on the lesser-included offense. There is ample evidence in the instant case from which the jury could have drawn inferences that would potentially have led to a conviction for either attempted first degree murder or attempted second degree murder, and the jury should have been allowed to consider the lesser-included offense of attempted second degree murder. See State v. Al-Zubaidy, 253 Neb. 357, 570 N.W.2d 713 (1997). Because the evidence adduced at Dixon's trial warranted a jury instruction on attempted second degree murder, we conclude that the failure of the district court to so instruct constituted prejudicial error. It is the duty of the trial judge to instruct the jury on the pertinent law of the case, whether requested to do so or not. Id. Thus, Dixon's convictions for attempted first degree murder and the related count of use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony must be reversed, and this cause is remanded for a new trial on those two counts. We do note that Dixon assigned as error that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction for attempted theft by unlawful taking. Dixon, however, did not support this assigned error with any argument; errors that are assigned but not argued will not be addressed by this court. See State v. Baue, 258 Neb. 968, 607 N.W.2d 191 (2000). Moreover, upon reviewing the record, we conclude that there is sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt for a jury to convict Dixon of attempted theft by unlawful taking of property with a value in excess of $1,500.