People v. Hull, 27 N.Y.3d 1057 (2016)

A trial court may submit a lesser-included offense to the jury if there is a reasonable view of the evidence that would support a finding that the defendant committed the lesser offense but not the greater offense.

Summary

In this case, the New York Court of Appeals addressed whether the trial court properly submitted a lesser-included offense of manslaughter in the first degree to the jury when the defendant was charged with second-degree murder. The defendant argued that there was no reasonable view of the evidence to support a finding that he intended only to injure the victim, not to kill him. The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s decision, holding that the trial court was correct in submitting the lesser-included offense because the evidence, including the defendant’s testimony and the circumstances surrounding the shooting, could have led the jury to conclude that the defendant intended only to cause serious physical injury, not death. The court also addressed an unpreserved claim of juror misconduct.

Facts

The defendant, after a history of arguments with his downstairs neighbor, shot and killed the neighbor with a handgun. At trial, the prosecution presented evidence of the defendant’s prior arguments with the victim, their verbal altercation just before the shooting, and the defendant retrieving a loaded handgun. The defendant testified he did not intend to kill the victim, but merely wanted to stop the victim’s