California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Hubbard, B255723 (Cal. App. 2015):
The jury instructions on the natural and probable consequences doctrine did not merely mention in passing that it applied only to conviction of assault with a deadly weapon, but set forth the elements for application of the doctrine expressly in terms of aggravated and simple assault, leaving no room for the jury to apply the doctrine to convict defendant of attempting to dissuade a witness. The jury was also instructed that if it "believ[ed] that the attorneys' comments on the law conflict[ed] with" the court's instructions, the jury must follow the court's instructions. (CALCRIM No. 200.) We presume the jury followed the court's instructions. (People v. Williams (2010) 49 Cal.4th 405, 469.)
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