CALCRIM Motion Bank # CCM-004 (Re: Motion To Delete CALCRIM Numbers And Titles In Written Instructions].)
__________ COURT OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF __________
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PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA,
Plaintiff,
vs.
Defendant(s).
_________________________/
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NO. _________
MOTION TO DELETE CALCRIM NUMBERS AND
TITLES IN WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS; POINTS
AND AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT OF MOTION
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Defendant requests that the instructions not be given any number or title and that they all be formatted in the same manner.
POINTS AND AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT OF MOTION
To assure that all the instructions are formatted similarly and do not mislead the jurors, the CALCRIM numbers and tittles should be deleted. (See generally CALCRIM User’s Guide, page 2 [titles are not intended for lay persons].)
For purposes of cross-referencing and/or tracking any jurors questions, the instructions should be consecutively paginated.
This request is based, inter alia, on the Due Process, Trial By Jury, Confrontation, Compulsory Process and Right to Counsel Clauses of the California Constitution (Art I, §7, 15 and 16) and the federal constitution (5th, 6th and 14th Amendments) as applied to California through the Incorporation Doctrine. (Duncan v. Louisiana (1968) 391 US 145 [20 LEd2d 491; 88 SCt 1444]; see also Tennessee v. Lane (2004) 541 US 509, 562 [158 LEd2d 820; 124 SCt 1978].)
Unless this instructional request is granted the instruction will abridge the defendant’s rights under the above constitutional provisions by failing to assure that the jury will fairly, impartially and accurately apply that law. (See Estelle v. McGuire (1991) 502 US 62, 70-72 [112 SCt 475; 116 LEd2d 385] [due process implicated if jurors misunderstand the instructions]; see also U.S. v. Gaudin (1995) 515 US 506, 514 [115 SCt 2309; 132 LEd2d 444] [it is “the jury’s constitutional responsibility…not merely to determine the facts, but to apply the law to those facts…”]; Wainwright v. Witt (1985) 469 US 412 [83 LEd2d 841; 105 SCt 844] [jurors must be willing and able to follow the judge’s instructions].)
This request is also based on the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause which is violated by:
(1) The arbitrary denial of a state created right. (Hicks v. Oklahoma (1980) 447 US 343 [65 LEd2d 175; 100 SCt 2227].)
(2) Multiple errors of state law which cumulatively render the trial unfair. (Greer v. Miller (1987) 483 US 756, 765 [107 SCt 3092; 97 LEd2d 618]; Taylor v. Kentucky (1978) 436 US 478, 488 [98 SCt 1930; 56 LEd2d 468]; Mak v. Blodgett (9th Cir. 1992) 970 F2d 614, 622; People v. Hill (1998) 17 C4th 800, 844-45.)
Furthermore, because this instruction request is necessary to assure the reliability of the jury’s disposition of this case, it is required by the above provisions of the federal constitution. (See generally Crawford v. Washington (2004) 541 US 36 [158 LEd2d 177; 124 SCt 1354]; White v. Illinois (1992) 502 US 346, 363-64 [112 SCt 736; 116 LEd2d 848]; Donnelly v. DeChristoforo (1974) 416 US 637, 646 [94 SCt 1868; 40 LEd2d 431]; Thompson v. City of Louisville (1960) 362 US 199, 204 [80 SCt 624; 4 LEd2d 654].)
If this instruction request is not granted there is a reasonable likelihood that the jury will apply the instructions in a way that will prejudicially violate the defendant’s federal constitutional rights. (Estelle v. McGuire (1991) 502 US 62 [116 LEd2d 385; 112 SCt 475]; McDowell v. Calderon (9th Cir. 1997) 130 F3d 833, 839.)
Dated: __________ Respectfully submitted,
_____________________________
TRIAL COUNSEL CAVEAT: ADDITIONAL FEDERALIZATION FOR CAPITAL/DEATH PENALTY CASES: In death penalty cases additional federal constitutional claims will apply, above and beyond the claims discussed above. (Insert appropriate grounds into Points and Authorities including, but not limited to, those applicable from FORECITE [(PG VII(I)(c)] [Constitutional Grounds: Death Penalty].)
