People v. Hampton

Defendant was convicted of being an armed habitual criminal and was sentenced to six years in prison. On appeal, he argued that he was denied a fair trial because the trial court refused to instruct the jury that it had to find defendant “knowingly” possessed and firearm. The appellate court reversed and remanded, finding that the applicable pattern jury instruction given by the trial court did not correctly state the law because it omitted the necessary mental state in order for defendant to be found guilty. (LYLE, concurring and NAVARRO, dissenting)