State v. Kupau

OPINION OF THE COURT BY

WATANABE, J.

In this appeal, Defendant-Appellant Walter Kupau, Jr. (Defendant) contends that his jury conviction of Assault in the Second Degree should be reversed for two reasons: first, the trial court committed plain error when it failed, sua sponte, to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense (LIO) of Assault in the Third Degree; and second, the conduct of Defendant’s trial counsel deprived Defendant of his constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel.

We agree that the trial court plainly erred when it failed sua sponte to give the LIO instruction.…