Tag Archives: Verdict


Defendant’s Previous Conviction: Cautionary Instruction
July 12th, 2022

It is beyond dispute that it is improper and prejudicial to permit the jurors to consider the fact that the defendant was previously tried and convicted for the same allegations. For example, in People v. Kessler (1963) 221 Cal.App.2d 187, 191, the court concluded that the unnecessary calling and identifying of a probation officer as […]


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Substitution of Alternate Juror After Partial Verdict
July 5th, 2022

When an alternate juror is substituted during deliberations, CALCRIM 3575 should be given instructing the jurors to disregard the earlier deliberations. (See People v. Cain (1995) 10 C4th 1, 64-65.) However, a special problem is presented when the substitution occurs after a partial verdict has been rendered. In fact, it has been suggested that the […]


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No Dual Convictions of PC 245(c) Based on the Same Act or Course of Conduct
March 6th, 2020

PC 954 authorizes multiple convictions for different or distinct offenses but does not permit multiple convictions for a different statement of the same offense when it is based on the same act or course of conduct. (People v. Vidana (2016) 1 Cal.5th 632, 650.) Whether a statute defines different offenses or merely different ways of […]


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Partial-Acquittal And Double Jeopardy: CSC Adheres To Defense-Favorable Rule
September 10th, 2019

Stone v. Superior Court (1982) 31 Cal.3d 503 recognized the “deceptively simple” yet “complex, rapidly expanding body of law” surrounding the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy arose from both the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, section 15 of the California Constitution. However, Blueford v. Arkansas (2012) 566 U.S. 599, 132 […]


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Unintelligible Verdict Forms
August 29th, 2016

When a jury states it has a verdict and submits signed and dated guilty and not guilty verdicts on the same count, the flaw is not merely one of inconsistency in the verdicts; the jury’s verdict on that count is simply unintelligible. (See People v. Carbajal (2013) 56 Cal.4th 521.) The court’s failure to notify […]


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Partial Acquittal Rule: Does Stone Survive Blueford?
February 16th, 2015

  In Stone v. Superior Court (1982) 31 Cal.3d 503 the court recognized that the “deceptively simple” yet “complex, rapidly expanding body of law” surrounding the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy arose from both the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, section 15 of the California Constitution.   However, Blueford v. […]


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