Opinion ID: 867207
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Failure to instruct the jury on manslaughter

Text: ¶ 24 Nelson next argues that the trial court's refusal to give a requested lesser-included manslaughter jury instruction was error. However, the trial court did instruct on second-degree murder. Thus, any purported error in failing to give a manslaughter instruction was harmless. When a jury is given a choice between first-degree murder and second-degree murder and convicts on first-degree murder, it has necessarily rejected manslaughter. See State v. Amaya-Ruiz, 166 Ariz. 152, 174, 800 P.2d 1260, 1282 (1990); State v. White, 144 Ariz. 245, 247, 697 P.2d 328, 330 (1985).