Ezamika Brown, Petitioner v. the People of the State of Colorado, Respondent

Summary

The court held that a defendant who maintains innocence may nevertheless request inconsistent instructions on a lesser included offense and voluntary intoxication, so long as the evidentiary record provides a rational basis. It affirmed because the record did not rationally support either attempted second-degree murder or voluntary intoxication, and therefore the trial court properly denied both instructions. Justice Coats, concurring in the judgment only, would affirm on the ground that the requested instructions contradicted Brown's binding trial testimony, while finding evidentiary support for them under a less demanding standard.