Commonwealth v. Swift

Opinion of the Court by

Justice MINTON.

We granted discretionary review to determine the propriety of the Court of Appeals’ decision that Anthony Wayne Swift’s cultivation of marijuana conviction must be reversed because the trial court failed to give an instruction on the lesser-included offense of possession of marijuana. Because we agree with the Court of Appeals that the trial court erred by failing to give the possession of marijuana instruction, we affirm.

The facts essential to this appeal are uncontested. Two sheriffs deputies went to Swift’s house to investigate an alleged domestic…