S-0764.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 5444

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1997 Regular Session

By Senators Roach, Long, Fairley, Kohl, Zarelli, Kline and Goings

Read first time 01/27/97.  Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.

Providing lesser included offenses.

    AN ACT Relating to lesser included offenses; and amending RCW 10.61.006.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

    Sec. 1.  RCW 10.61.006 and 1891 c 28 s 76 are each amended to read as follows:

    In all other cases the defendant may be found guilty of an offense the commission of which is necessarily included within that with which he is charged in the indictment or information.

If the defendant is charged with a crime, the definition of which provides for two or more alternatives for committing that offense, the trier of fact may consider whether the defendant committed a lesser included offense if all of the elements of that lesser included offense are contained in at least one of the alternatives of the crime charged in the information or indictment.

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