The State of Washington, Appellant v. Lawrence D. Workman, Respondent; the State of Washington, Appellant, v…

Summary

The Washington Supreme Court modified and affirmed two trial-court orders granting new trials to defendants convicted of attempted first-degree robbery while armed with a firearm. It held that unlawfully carrying a weapon under RCW 9.41.270 is a lesser-included offense requiring an instruction on these facts; that abandonment is not a true defense to attempt under RCW 9A.28.020, while adopting the Model Penal Code standard that a 'substantial step' must be strongly corroborative of the actor's criminal purpose; that the firearms-act enhancement of RCW 9.41.025(1) cannot be stacked onto first-degree robbery under the rule of lenity and specific-over-general construction; and that prosecutorial discretion to invoke RCW 9.41.025 or RCW 9.95.040 does not deny equal protection. No separate opinions were filed.