State v. Wilson, 187A22, ___ N.C. ___ (Dec. 15, 2023)

In this Mecklenburg County case, the Supreme Court modified and affirmed the Court of Appeals majority opinion that held defendant was not entitled to an instruction on second-degree murder as a lesser included offense while on trial for first-degree murder based on the felony-murder rule. 

On Father’s Day in 2017, defendant and an associate arranged to sell a cellphone to a man through the LetGo app. However, during the meeting to sell the phone, the deal went wrong and defendant’s associate shot the buyer. Defendant came to trial for attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, first-degree murder under the felony murder theory, and conspiracy to commit robbery with his associate. The trial court denied defendant’s request for an instruction on second-degree murder as a lesser-included offense. Defendant was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder and attempted robbery, but not the conspiracy charge. The Court of Appeals majority found no error, applying “the second part of the test” from State v. Gwynn, 362 N.C. 334 (2008), to conclude “defendant was not entitled to a second-degree murder instruction because ‘there [was] no evidence in the record from which a rational juror could find [d]efendant guilty of second-degree murder and not guilty of felony murder.’” Slip Op. at 6. 

Taking up the appeal, the Supreme Court explained that defendant was only entitled to an instruction on lesser-included offenses if “(1) the evidence supporting the underlying felony is ‘in conflict,’ and (2) the evidence would support a lesser-included offense of first-degree murder.” Id. at 9. The Court examined the elements of attempted robbery and found supporting evidence, while rejecting the three issues raised by defendant that attempted to show the evidence was “in conflict.” Id. at 15. Applying the first part of the test from Gwynn, the Court determined that there was no conflict in the evidence supporting the underlying attempted robbery felony. Modifying the Court of Appeals majority’s analysis, the Court explained that “[b]ecause there was not a conflict in the evidence, we need not proceed to the next step of the Gwynnanalysis to consider whether the evidence would support a lesser-included offense of first-degree murder.” Id. at 17. 

Justice Earls, joined by Justice Riggs, dissented and would have found the evidence was “in conflict,” justifying an instruction on second-degree murder under the Gwynn analysis. Id. at 18.