People v. Hamilton

I agree with the appellate court that the circuit court did not err when it refused to give defendant’s instruction on theft. Such an instruction would have been proper only if theft were a lesser included offense of residential burglary. Under the charging instrument approach followed in Illinois (People v. Novak, 163 Ill. 2d 93, 112-13 (1994)), theft cannot be considered a lesser included offense of residential burglary as that crime was charged here.

To be considered a lesser included offense under the charging instrument approach, an offense must be described by the charging instrument. At…