State v. Fernandez-Medina

— This appeal presents the question of whether the trial court erred in declining to instruct the *450jury that second degree assault is an inferior degree offense to the offense with which the defendant was charged, first degree assault. We reverse the Court of Appeals’ decision affirming the trial court’s refusal to give the inferior degree offense instruction, concluding that the defendant was entitled to the instruction because there was evidence in the record which raised an inference that Fernandez-Medina committed only second, degree assault, rather than the charged offense of first degree…