lesser-included offense

n. in criminal law, a crime which is proved by the same facts as a more serious crime. Example: Ignatz "Itchy" Fingers is charged with armed robbery, but the prosecution fails to prove Itchy used his pistol since the victims do not recall the gun, but does prove he took the jewels. Thus, he is convicted of larceny which is a lesser form of theft and he will receive a lighter sentence. A common example is the so-called "wet reckless" which is the crime of driving recklessly after some drinking, but not necessarily while drunk. In plea bargains for first offenders in close cases the driver may plead guilty or "no contest" to this lesser-included offense instead of drunk driving which carries a more severe penalty, including jail time. (See: plea bargain)

Mentioned in ?

References in periodicals archive ?

Also, if that condition is an element, then the Commonwealth will be startled to learn that the offense of voluntary manslaughter can no longer fill its centuries-long role as a lesser-included offense of murder under the Blockburger test.

Evidence sufficient for voluntary manslaughter

amp;nbsp;   Criminal Law Sentencing ACCA Predicate Felony Where a defendant in a felon in possession case challenged his sentencing under the Armed Career Criminals Act, the lesser-included offense of simple robbery in Minnesota conviction constituted a violent felony, so the judgment is affirmed.

8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Digest: Jan. 31

Today, the lesser-included offense doctrine is set forth in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

"CHARGING BY AMBUSH": AN ANALYSIS OF THE LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSE DOCTRINE IN STATE V. MCCAHREN

2d DCA 1999), the court stated in dictum that Leaving the Scene of a Crash Involving Injury is a necessarily lesser-included offense of Leaving the Scene of a Crash Involving Death.

Amendments to jury instructions

If that plea is to a lesser-included offense, that notice will include a re-written specification.

A view from the bench: make the routine, routine

Even in those ten, in seven cases the jury opted to convict of the lesser-included offense of manslaughter.

The Jury in Lincoln's America

47) Defendants thus would be labeled as depraved, but there existed a possibility that a jury would consider the depraved indifference murder as a lesser-included offense of intentional murder.

Double jeopardy

His attorney decided not to pursue an insanity defense believing there was an insufficient factual basis for it, but focused on obtaining a conviction for a lesser-included offense of second degree murder or first degree manslaughter, arguing that Hooks acted in the heat of passion and not with malice aforethought.

Tenth circuit finds right to counsel in post-conviction proceeding to determine whether mental retardation bars imposition of death penalty; rejects use of Flynn effect in determining IQ

For instance, they can be simultaneously charged with a greater offense and with a lesser-included offense within the legal definition of the greater offense (which often carries a lower burden of proof), and can be convicted of either the individual charge or both charges.

Tax prosecution: how to keep your clients--and yourself--out of jail

81) She pointed to the holdings of state supreme courts in other jurisdictions that a jury's deadlock on a lesser-included offense justifies the assumption that the jury acquitted on any greater offense.

Ruling from a vacuum: using common sense, psychology, and statistics to provide a more realistic and fair basis for deciding Blueford V. Arkansas

After a mistrial, a second jury convicted her of the lesser-included offense of voluntary manslaughter.

Ninth Circuit holds that Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) gave district court power to try Defendant for killing her husband on U.S. base in Turkey but reverses her conviction for voluntary manslaughter for district court's failure to instruct jury that they might convict Defendant of involuntary manslaughter

Alaska, (11) the petitioner brought a still-unresolved issue of double jeopardy to the Court, questioning whether the Alaska courts had properly held that a jury deliberating on the greater offense could be precluded from considering the lesser-included offense unless it had unanimously agreed to acquit on the greater charge.