Dickinson v. State

BERGER, Justice:

In this criminal appeal, we address the question left undecided in Erskine v. State 1 — whether the trial court must give a jury instruction on an accomplice’s level of liability if there is a basis for such an instruction, but neither party requests it. By statute, accomplice liability must be based on the accomplice’s own mental state and accountability for an aggravating factor. Thus, in appropriate circumstances, an accomplice may be found guilty of less serious offenses than the principal defendant. But accomplices do not always ask for an accomplice liability jury…