Ex Parte Stork

Petitioner, Francis Louise Stork, seeks review of the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals, 475 So.2d 622, which upheld the trial court's refusal to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of third-degree assault.

The sole issue before this Court is whether a person who denies committing an offense with which he is charged is, nevertheless, entitled to a jury instruction on a lesser included offense supported by the evidence.

Petitioner was charged with assault in the first degree, and the trial court charged the jury on assault in the first andsecond degrees, but refused…