California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Meeks, B217551 (Cal. App. 2011):
As a general rule, "[c]onviction of a lesser included offense is an implied acquittal of the offense charged when the jury returns a verdict of guilty of only the lesser included offense. [Citations.] When the jury expressly finds defendant guilty of both the greater and lesser offense, however, there is no implied acquittal of the greater offense. If the evidence supports the verdict as to [the] greater offense, the conviction of that offense is controlling, and the conviction of the lesser offense must be reversed." (People v. Moran
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(1970) 1 Cal.3d 755, 763 [sale of LSD and possession of LSD]; and see also People v. Cole (1982) 31 Cal.3d 568, 582 [conviction for grand theft reversed on ground it was a lesser included offense of the crime of robbery].)
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