The People of the State of Colorado, Petitioner v. Priscilla Ann Rock, Respondent

Summary

The court held that second-degree criminal trespass qualifies as a lesser included offense of second-degree burglary under the statutory-elements test because one legally sufficient method of committing trespass requires only elements necessarily established by the burglary charge. The trial court therefore erred by refusing Rock’s requested instruction, and the error was not harmless because the evidence gave the jury a rational basis to convict her of trespass rather than burglary. The judgment reversing both convictions was affirmed.