Court Opinion

ID: 9754640
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 20:08:37.673426+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:27:56.119304
License: Public Domain

PRYOR, Associate Judge,
concurring:
Where, as here, the jury receives two second-degree murder instructions fashioned by the court and counsel, it cannot be said that “sole[] responsibility]” for the instruction lies with the defendant; hence, his actions did not “deprive[] him of [his] right [to avoid] consecutive trials.” Jeffers v. United States, 432 U.S. 137, 154, 97 S.Ct. 2207, 2218, 53 L.Ed.2d 168 (1977). Therefore, I agree with the majority that the jury’s verdict of not guilty of second-degree murder as a lesser-included offense of felony murder is a bar to retrial for second-degree murder as a lesser-included offense of premeditated murder.
I further note that it was improper to instruct the jury to consider second-degree murder under both the premeditated murder and felony murder counts. United States v. LaVallee, 517 F.2d 1330, 1333 (2d Cir.1975). The problem we have here should be avoided in the future by allowing the jury to consider only one count of second-degree murder.