Schad v. Arizona, 501 U.S. 624 (1991), is a United States Supreme Court decision that explained which charges need to be explained to the jury in trials for felony murders.

Schad v. Arizona
Argued February 27, 1991
Decided June 21, 1991
Full case nameSchad v. State of Arizona
Citations501 U.S. 624 (more)
111 S. Ct. 2491; 115 L. Ed. 2d 555
Case history
PriorState v. Schad, 163 Ariz. 411, 788 P.2d 1162 (1989); cert. granted, 498 U.S. 894 (1990).
Holding
(1) Robbery is not a lesser included offense of felony murder predicated on robbery, and so Beck v. Alabama does not require a jury instruction on robbery when a defendant is charged with felony murder. (2) Because jurors need not agree on the mode of commission of an offense, Arizona may classify both premeditated murder and felony murder as first-degree murder and require that jurors unanimously agree only that first-degree murder was committed, rather than that felony murder or premeditated murder was committed.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
Byron White · Thurgood Marshall
Harry Blackmun · John P. Stevens
Sandra Day O'Connor · Antonin Scalia
Anthony Kennedy · David Souter
Case opinions
MajoritySouter, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Kennedy (in full); Scalia (part III)
ConcurrenceScalia
DissentWhite, joined by Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amends. VI, XIV

See also

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