Are instructions to the jury in a state criminal trial that omit the requirement of proof of every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt automatically reversible?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Flood, 18 Cal.4th 470, 76 Cal.Rptr.2d 180, 957 P.2d 869 (Cal. 1998):
Instructions to the jury in a state criminal trial that omit the requirement of proof of every element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt are automatically reversible. (See Jackson v. Virginia, supra, 443 U.S. at p. 320, fn. 14, 99 S.Ct. 2781.)
Furthermore, instructions to the jury in a state criminal trial that merely omit a proper description of the requirement of proof of every element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt are themselves automatically reversible. (Sullivan v. Louisiana, supra, 508 U.S. at pp. 278-282, 113 S.Ct. 2078.)
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