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Learning What Lesser Related Offenses Are and How to Respond to Them

When California law refers to a “lesser related offense,” it is referring a crime that is less serious than a specific crime but is similar in some specific way. This is often confused with lesser related offenses, which are entirely different and covered in another blog post. Today we are going to look at the elements of lesser related offenses and how they can affect any pending criminal charges you are facing.

Read on to get the basics but please contact Law Office of Michael L. Fell at (949) 585-9055 for your own free legal consultation. We can discuss the specifics of your case and how to best proceed.

What Exactly Are Lesser Related Offenses?

The term applies to crimes that are similar but have different elements. In fact, neither crime can have all the elements of the other crime. If a court looks just at the elements, then there would be no decision that one crime was included in another, but there could be the decision that the crimes are related to one another.

Here is a simple example: Imagine a situation in which a person broke the window of a restaurant. The police may determine that nothing was stolen or distributed on the property. There is not evidence to support the idea that the person who broke the window entered the restaurant.

However, once the police find the person that smashed the window, the prosecution decides to charge them with both burglary and attempted burglary. Note that, per California law, burglary requires that two elements be proven: The defendant entered the building and they had the intent to commit a felony.

The defendant’s criminal defense attorney may want the judge to tell the jury to consider a conviction of vandalism instead. The person who broke the window says they did it on a dare and did not have any intention of stealing anything from the restaurant. Consider that vandalism involves three different elements: The defendant acted maliciously, they defaced, damaged, or destroyed property, and the property did not belong to them.

As you can see, the elements of vandalism are not contained within the elements of burglary. As a result, vandalism is not a lesser included offense but it may be a lesser related offense. This can work to the benefit of the defendant as they will face a lesser charge – which likely comes with a more lenient penalty.

Talk to An Attorney Today if You Have Been Charged with a Crime

If you have been charged with a criminal offense then you should talk to a criminal defense attorney. No matter how minor the offense may seem, or how much evidence you may be facing, it is always worth it to talk to an attorney about how they can help. You can reach Law Office of Michael L. Fell at (949) 585-9055 now for a no-risk, no-fee, confidential consultation.