CC 200 Does Not Cure DA’s Misstatement of the Law When Instructions Are Silent on the Issue
August 5th, 2021
CC 200, paragraph 4, admonishes the jurors as follows: If you believe that the attorney’s comments on the law conflict with my instructions, you must follow my instructions. Typically reviewing courts rely on this admonition to assume that the jurors relied on the instructions instead of the arguments of counsel. When argument runs […]
Tags: Appeal , CC 200 , Standard of Prejudice , Strategy Notes and Practice Ideas
CSC to Consider What Standard of Prejudice Applies to Instructional Error on Defense Theory
July 26th, 2021
In People v. Hendrix REV. GTD. 1/20/21 S265668 (B298952; 55 Cal.App.5th 1092) the defendant told police that he entered the victim’s backyard and tried to force entries believing this to be his cousin Trevor’s house. The reviewing court acknowledged that appellant if subjectively believed that he was at Trevor’s house, the jury could, in theory, […]
Tags: Appeal , Apprendi , CC 1600 , CC 1800 , CC 1863 , CC 3406 , Defense Theory Instructions , Mistake Of Fact , Standard of Prejudice
SB 1437 Update
June 12th, 2021
This post: SB 1437, Which Amended the Natural and Probable Consequences Doctrine as It Relates to Murder, Bars a Conviction for Second Degree Murder Under That Theory December 23rd, 2020 discusses People v. Gentile (2020) 10 Cal.5th 830, 842 which barred a conviction for second degree murder under the natural and probable consequences […]
Tags: Accomplice Liability , Aider and Abettor , Appeal , Attempted Murder , CC 400 , CC 401 , CC 402 , CC 403 , CC 415 , CC 416 , CC 417 , CC 521 , CC 600 , CC 601 , Chiu Doctrine , Natural and Probable Consequences , PC 1170.95 , Premeditation and Deliberation , Retroactivity , SB 1437
Defendants Whose Cases Are Pending on Appeal May Seek to Stay Their Appeals in Order to Pursue Relief Under SB 1437
January 4th, 2021
People v. Gentile (Dec. 17, 2020, S256698) concluded that SB 1437 bars a conviction for second degree murder under the natural and probable consequences theory. It also held that the procedure set forth in section PC 1170.95 is the exclusive mechanism for retroactive relief and thus the ameliorative provisions of SB 1437 do not apply […]
Tags: Accomplice Liability , Aider and Abettor , Appeal , Attempted Murder , CC 400 , CC 401 , CC 402 , CC 403 , CC 415 , CC 416 , CC 417 , CC 521 , CC 600 , CC 601 , Chiu Doctrine , Natural and Probable Consequences , PC 1170.95 , Premeditation and Deliberation , Retroactivity , SB 1437
SB 1437, Which Amended the Natural and Probable Consequences Doctrine as It Relates to Murder, Bars a Conviction for Second Degree Murder Under That Theory
December 23rd, 2020
When an accomplice aids and abets a crime, the accomplice is culpable for both that crime and any other offense committed that is the natural and probable consequence of the aided and abetted crime. Natural and probable consequences liability can be imposed even if the accomplice did not intend the additional offense. (People v. McCoy […]
Tags: Accomplice Liability , Aider and Abettor , Appeal , Attempted Murder , CC 400 , CC 401 , CC 402 , CC 403 , CC 415 , CC 416 , CC 417 , CC 521 , CC 600 , CC 601 , Chiu Doctrine , Natural and Probable Consequences , PC 1170.95 , Premeditation and Deliberation , Retroactivity , SB 1437
CSC Neither Tightens Nor Lessens Standard of Prejudice for Alternate Theory Error
September 4th, 2020
People v. Aledamat (2019) 8 Cal.5th 1 a divided court held that the same standard of prejudice which applies to the misdescription or omission of elements of the charge applies to alternate theory error: i.e., instruction on both a correct and incorrect theory of guilt: “the same Chapman analysis of harmless error applies to alternative-theory […]
Tags: Appeal , Standard of Prejudice
SB 1437 and Attempted Murder
August 27th, 2020
A recurring issue in Court of Appeal opinions is whether SB 1437 applies to attempted murder liability under the natural and probable consequences doctrine, and there is currently a split in authority. The California Supreme will consider this issue in People v. Lopez (2019) 38 Cal.App.5th 1087, review granted 11/13/2019 (S258175/B271516). See this post: Two […]
Tags: Accomplice Liability , Aider and Abettor , Appeal , Attempted Murder , CC 400 , CC 401 , CC 402 , CC 403 , CC 415 , CC 416 , CC 417 , CC 521 , CC 600 , CC 601 , Chiu Doctrine , Natural and Probable Consequences , PC 1170.95 , Premeditation and Deliberation , Retroactivity , SB 1437
Deficiencies in Defense Evidence Cannot Make up for Shortcomings in Prosecution’s Evidence
August 13th, 2020
[Update of February 3rd, 2015 post] People v. Centeno (2014) 60 Cal. 4th 659 provides an important clarification of the presumption of innocence and the prosecution’s burden of proof: “…[D]eficiencies in the defense case [cannot] make up for shortcomings in [the prosecution’s case].” (Id., at 673.) For example, in People v. Brito (Sep. 19, 2019, […]
Tags: Appeal , Beyond A Reasonable Doubt , Burden Of Proof , CC 100 , CC 101 , CC 220 , Defense Theory Instructions , Lesser Included Offenses , Misstatement Of Law , Presumption of Innocence , Prosecutor Misconduct , Sample Instructions , Standard of Prejudice
Judicial Recognition That Juror Compromise May Produce Unreliable Verdicts When the Jury Is Given An All-Or-Nothing Choice Between Conviction and Acquittal
May 17th, 2020
The rationale for requiring courts to instruct on lesser-included offenses is to avoid forcing the jury into an ” ‘unwarranted all-or-nothing choice’ ” that creates the risk the jury will convict on the charged offense even though one of the elements remains in doubt because ” ‘the defendant is plainly guilty of some offense.’ ” […]
Tags: Appeal , Lesser Included Offenses
Failure to Object Does Not Forfeit the Issue on Appeal When There Is a Change in the Law
May 12th, 2020
In People v. Sanchez (2016) 63 C4th 665 held that if an expert testifies to case-specific out-of-court statements to explain the bases for his opinion, those statements are necessarily considered by the jury for their truth, thus rendering them hearsay. In People v. Perez (2020) ___ Cal5th ___ S248730; 2/27/20 defense counsel failed to […]
Tags: Appeal , Evidence and Witnesses , Hearsay
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