State of Arizona, Appellee v. Christepher E. Lua, Appellant

Summary

The court held that a trial court may instruct on provocation manslaughter in a second-degree murder prosecution, even over the defendant's objection, when the evidence supports the instruction. Although provocation manslaughter is not a lesser-included offense under the statutory-elements test, it is a less serious offense that may be submitted to the jury without separately charging or amending the indictment. The court also prescribed the order and substance of the required jury instruction, affirmed Lua's convictions and sentences, and vacated the court of appeals' opinion because its reasoning was partly incorrect.