State v. Ronald Bean, 149 A.3d 487

Defendant (Ronald Bean) was charged with domestic assault for punching a co-resident at a Middlebury residential facility; trial evidence included the complainant’s sworn statement and a staff witness who heard and saw the punch.
Defendant argued at trial that the complainant was not a "household member" (so domestic-assault statute did not apply) and also asserted self-defense.
After the State rested, it requested a jury instruction on simple assault as a lesser-included offense of domestic assault; defense counsel agreed on the legal relationship but objected to adding the instruction at that stage.
The court instructed the jury on simple assault as a lesser-included offense; the jury acquitted on domestic assault but convicted on simple assault.
Defendant appealed, arguing (1) the jury instructions as given made simple assault not a true lesser-included offense of domestic assault, and (2) the court cannot give a lesser-included instruction over a defendant’s objection.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Bean)	Held
Whether simple assault (as instructed) is a lesser-included offense of domestic assault	Simple assault is a lesser-included offense because it shares all elements of domestic assault except the "household member" element	The court’s instructions differed in elements: domestic assault required "household member" while simple assault included a proximate-cause explanation and used a different mens rea word, so they were not strictly nested	Affirmed: as instructed, simple assault was a valid lesser-included offense; the "household member" element made domestic assault the greater offense and proximate-cause language was merely explanatory, not an extra element
Whether the trial court may give a lesser-included instruction over a defendant’s objection	The State may request the instruction; statute requires the jury be informed if evidence supports it	Defendant contends he can force an all-or-nothing verdict and that only the defendant controls whether a lesser-included instruction is submitted	Affirmed: under 13 V.S.A. § 14 the court must instruct on a supported lesser-included offense if requested by either party (or sua sponte); a defendant cannot veto such an instruction

State v. Forbes, 147 Vt. 612 (1987) (defines lesser-included-offense test)
Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 (1932) (elemental test for separate offenses)
State v. Swift, 176 Vt. 299 (2004) (holding simple assault is a lesser-included offense of domestic assault)
Beck v. Alabama, 447 U.S. 625 (1980) (historical and policy foundations for lesser-included instructions)
State v. Trombly, 160 Vt. 215 (1993) (discussing defendant control and tactical decision over requesting lesser-included instructions)
Cox v. State, 851 A.2d 1269 (Del. 2003) (trial judge must give lesser-included instruction at request of either party if evidence permits)
State v. Howland, 402 A.2d 188 (N.H. 1979) (state entitled to lesser-included instruction if evidence justifies it)