Can a jury be misled by the prosecutor by excising premeditation and deliberation from the elements of first degree premeditated murder?

Defendant now claims the prosecutor misstated the law by excising premeditation and deliberation from first degree premeditated murder. (See People v. Hill (1998) 17 Cal.4th 800, 830-831, 72 Cal.Rptr.2d 656, 952 P.2d 673 [prosecutor overlooked force or fear element of robbery].) Assuming the claim has been preserved for appeal, the jury could not have

[26 Cal.Rptr.3d 37]

been misled as defendant suggests. The trial court took swift action to correct any suggestion that first degree premeditated murder involved no mental state other than intent to kill. The instructions also identified and defined the elements of first degree premeditated murder, including the prosecution's duty to prove the "willful, deliberate and premeditated" nature of the killing. As noted earlier, the jury knew statements made in closing arguments had no binding effect. The instructions also told jurors to "follow the law" as stated by the court. We assume the jury abided by the court's admonitions and instructions, and thereby avoided any prejudice. (People v. Jones (1997) 15 Cal.4th 119, 168, 61 Cal.Rptr.2d 386, 931 P.2d 960.)

[26 Cal.Rptr.3d 37]