California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Grever, 211 Cal.App.3d Supp. 1, 259 Cal.Rptr. 469 (Cal. Super. 1989):
A very similar instruction was rejected on appeal in People v. Beach, supra, 194 Cal.App.3d at p. 972, 240 Cal.Rptr. 50. The court held it misstated the law because it failed to instruct there must be "an emergency justifying the act." And the law also requires the person committing the crime to report to the proper authorities upon reaching a position of safety. (Ibid.) Neither requirement appeared in the necessity instruction in the instant case.
2 "Defense Counsel Kanouse: And when your visitation was over, did you offer to bring him back?
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