STATE of Tennessee v. Phedrek T. DAVIS

The specific question presented for our review is whether the acquittal-first jury instruction, in the context of the right to a complete charge on the count in the indictment as well as any and all lesser-included offenses supported by the evidence at trial, either is violative of our constitution or should be overruled for policy reasons. See State v. Ely, 48 S.W.3d 710 (Tenn.2001); State v. Burns, 6 S.W.3d 453 (Tenn.1999). The majority concludes that the instruction meets constitutional muster, and I am inclined to concur with that assessment; however, an acquittal-first instruction in…