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PG II(C) Language From Appellate Court Opinions.
Language taken verbatim from an appellate court decision is deemed to be a correct statement of the law. (People v. Jones (1971) 19 CA3d 437, 447.) However, such language is not appropriate for a jury instruction if it states a standard of appellate review (People v. Lucero (1988) 44 C3d 1006, 1021), if it serves as a judicial comment “aimed at specific evidence,” (People v. Harris (1989) 47 C3d 1047, 1098, fn 31), or if it merely restates issues which are fully covered by other instructions (People v. Adams (1987) 196 CA3d 201, 204). Thus, there is a danger inherent in simply incorporating language taken from an appellate opinion into a jury instruction. (People v. Wagner (2009) 170 CA4th 499, 508; see also Delos v. Farmers Ins. (1979) 93 CA3d 642, 656 [judicial opinions are not written as jury instructions and may be notoriously unreliable as such].)
[See also FORECITE BIBLIO, “Language/Drafting of Instructions” (BIBLIO L).]