State v. Trinkle

David Trinkle (defendant), ejected from a tavern for drunkenness, fired a gun into the tavern door and wounded a patron inside. The indictment charged Trinkle with attempted murder for firing his gun while knowing it exposed people inside to a strong probability of death or great bodily harm, and the trial judge instructed the jury along the same knowledge-based lines rather than requiring specific intent to kill. The jury convicted Trinkle; an appellate court reversed for want of a specific-intent element, and the state appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.