Joseph Dickinson, Defendant Below, Appellant v. State of Delaware, Plaintiff Below, Appellee

Summary

The Supreme Court of Delaware held that a trial court is not required to give an accomplice "level of liability" instruction sua sponte, even when the evidence supports conviction for a lesser degree of offense. The instruction must be requested because giving it without a request could interfere with the defendant's trial strategy, and the record showed that Dickinson deliberately pursued an all-or-nothing defense. The court therefore affirmed his convictions and sentences.