Allen v. State

The appellant in this case was found guilty by a jury of residential burglary. In reversing that conviction, the majority holds that appellant was entitled to an instruction on the lesser included offense of criminal trespass. I dissent primarily because there was no rational basis for the giving of such an instruction, but also because the issue was not properly preserved for appellate review.

To place the issue in perspective, I feel that it is necessary to briefly set out the evidence presented by the State, even though appellant failed to include such testimony in his abstract. The record…