People v. Knaff

When the State originally sought and obtained dismissal of the lesser offenses, it clearly hoped that doing so would improve its chances of persuading the jury to return guilty verdicts for the more serious crimes. What the State failed to realize was that its strategy turned on proof that it could not provide.

At the close of the State’s case, the circuit court determined that the State had failed to establish the elements necessary to convict defendant of the more serious offenses. It therefore refused to allow the counts charging those offenses to be considered by the jury. That action…