Hawthorne v. United States

TERRY, Associate Judge:

Appellant Hawthorne was charged by indictment with armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence (“PFCV”). A jury found him guilty of PFCV as charged, and on the armed robbery count it found him guilty of the lesser included offense of robbery. On appeal from the judgment of conviction, appellant argues that the trial court erred (1) by raising sua sponte the issue of whether the government wished it to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of robbery, and (2) by giving the jury a preliminary instruction on aiding and…