Court Opinion

ID: 9631512
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 10:40:51.916952+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:29:27.245396
License: Public Domain

WERDEGAR, J., Concurring.
I agree with the principal conclusions and reasoning of the majority opinion. I also agree, however, with part II of Justice Chin’s concurring and dissenting opinion. Neither carjacking nor robbery is necessarily included in the other; defendant’s conviction on both offenses was proper for that reason as well as for the reason given in part VI of the majority opinion.
With regard to the question of conviction of both robbery and grand theft for the same set of criminal acts, I agree ultimately with the majority, but think the dissenting view has considerable force as well. The underlying problem is that grand theft functions logically as a lesser included offense of robbery for some purposes, but not for others, creating anomalies in the results reached by both the majority and the dissent.
The determination that crime B is a lesser included offense of crime A has four major legal consequences:
(1) A defendant charged with crime A may be convicted, if the evidence warrants it, of crime B; that is, the trial court does not err in giving instructions and verdict forms on the lesser crime, B, even though that crime was not charged. (Pen. Code, § 1159.)
(2) The trial court has a sua sponte duty to give instructions and verdict forms on crime B, again if warranted by the evidence. (People v. Birks (1998) 19 Cal.4th 108, 118 [77 Cal.Rptr.2d 848, 960 P.2d 1073].)
(3) After a jury verdict or court finding of guilty on the charged crime, A, the trial court on a motion for new trial, or the appellate court on appeal, may reduce the conviction on crime A to one for crime B if the evidence does not support the verdict on A, but does show guilt of B. (Pen. Code, § 1181, subd. 6.)
(4) The defendant may not be convicted of both A and B; the lesser conviction is subject to vacation by the trial court or reversal on appeal. *702(People v. Pearson (1986) 42 Cal.3d 351, 355 [228 Cal.Rptr. 509, 721 P.2d 595].)
For purposes of consequences (1) and (2), the determination crime B is a lesser included offense of crime A amounts to an interpretation of the charge: a charge of crime A is deemed to include a charge of crime B, so that the court may (and, under California law, must) instruct on B if warranted by the state of the evidence. For this instructional purpose, the critical question is one of notice: a defendant can be convicted of an uncharged crime only if the charge gave fair notice of such a possible conviction. In contrast, for purposes of consequences (3) and (4), the determination crime B is a lesser included offense of crime A amounts to an interpretation of the verdict or judgment of conviction: a conviction of A is deemed to include a conviction of B, so that double conviction is superfluous and the former can be reduced to the latter. In interpreting the conviction, whether the initial charging instrument gave notice of the lesser crime seems unimportant.
As the majority explains, a charge of robbery gives adequate notice of a possible conviction for grand theft because every robbery necessarily charges a theft, and every charge of theft puts the defendant on notice that, depending on the proven value or character of the property taken, he or she may be convicted of first degree (grand) or second degree (petty) theft. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 696.) Grand theft, therefore, functions as a lesser included offense of robbery for purposes of consequences (1) and (2) outlined above. But, as Justice Chin in his concurring and dissenting opinion observes, robbery does not seem to include grand theft for purposes of consequence (3): the trial or appellate court cannot generally reduce a robbery conviction to one for grand theft, even when the evidence supports it, because the jury will normally not have made any finding as to the value or nature of the stolen property. (Cone, and dis. opn. of Chin, J., post, at p. 697.) In sum, a robbery conviction does not seem to include a grand theft conviction, even though a robbery charge includes a grand theft charge.
Assuming that a lesser included offense relationship must either exist between two crimes for all purposes or not exist at all, either holding—that of the majority or that of Justice Chin—will create an anomaly somewhere. Holding, as we do, that grand theft is a lesser included offense of robbery, it will remain true that, unless special findings are made, a robbery verdict will not be reducible to grand theft. Were we, by contrast, to hold, as Justice Chin proposes, that grand theft is not a lesser included offense of robbery, no jury instructions or verdict forms on grand theft would be required (or, indeed, *703permitted without both parties’ consent) in a robbery prosecution, even though the defendant did have sufficient notice that such instructions and verdicts might be given, and even in a case where the evidence presented a legitimate jury question whether all the elements of robbery were proven, but strongly tended to show commission, at least, of grand theft. (See People v. Birks, supra, 19 Cal.4th at pp. 127-129, 136 [instructions on nonincluded lesser offenses may not be given over objection of either party].)
Of the two, the anomaly the majority holding creates seems likely to be, in practice, the less serious. Under our holding as I understand it, the prosecutor may charge both robbery and grand theft as separate counts in a case where the force or fear element of robbery is doubtful, but the value or character of the property taken, or the from-the-person character of the taking itself, tends to show commission of grand theft. The jury may convict on either or both. (Pen. Code, § 954.) If the jury convicts on both, but the trial court believes the evidence insufficient to show robbery, the court may then set aside the robbery verdict and render judgment on grand theft pursuant to Penal Code section 1181, subdivision 6. In this manner, the jury is given the correct range of choices, while the prosecutor preserves a felony conviction even if the robbery charge fails before the jury or court. Of course, if the jury convicts on both charges, and the greater is supported by the evidence, the court should set aside the lesser (grand theft) conviction. Under this holding, neither the prosecutor nor the defense may force the jury to choose between robbery and petty theft in a doubtful robbery case; the court, rather, will properly give grand theft instructions where the evidence supports them, whatever the parties’ strategic wishes. (See People v. Barton (1995) 12 Cal.4th 186, 204 [47 Cal.Rptr.2d 569, 906 P.2d 531].) Under the contrary holding proposed by Justice Chin, in contrast; there would seem no way for the court to put before the jury the full range of choices justified by the evidence without the prosecutor’s and the defendant’s joint agreement.
Consequently, although recognizing that neither position in this case has a monopoly on logic, I join the majority in holding grand theft is a lesser included offense of robbery.