Does the failure of a trial court to instruct on lesser included offenses present a federal constitutional question?

MultiRegion, United States of America

The following excerpt is from Acajabon v. Espinoza, Case No. 1:16-cv-00183-MJS (HC) (E.D. Cal. 2017):

In any event, "[u]nder the law of this circuit, the failure of a trial court to instruct on lesser included offenses in a non-capital case does not present a federal constitutional question." Windham v. Merkle, 163 F.3d 1092, 1106 (9th Cir. 1998). See also United States v. Rivera-Alonzo, 584 F.3d 829, 834 n. 3 (9th Cir. 2009) ("In the context of habeas corpus review of a state court conviction, we have stated that there is no clearly established federal constitutional right to lesser included instructions in non-capital cases.")

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