Does a defendant have forfeited his claim that the trial court had a sua sponte duty to instruct the jury on involuntary manslaughter?

California, United States of America

The following excerpt is from People v. Johnson, E066239 (Cal. App. 2018):

^4. Although defense counsel initially requested but later withdrew his request to instruct the jury on involuntary manslaughter pursuant to CALCRIM No. 580, defendant has not forfeited his claim that the trial court had a sua sponte duty to instruct on involuntary manslaughter. (People v. Lopez (2011) 199 Cal.App.4th 1297, 1304, fn. 35 ["There is no forfeiture of an instructional issue where the substantial rights of the defendant have been affected."]; 1259.)
^5. Because defendant does not claim the prosecutor intentionally committed misconduct, his claims are properly characterized as claims of prosecutorial "error" rather than "misconduct." (People v. Hill (1998) 17 Cal.4th 800, 823, fn. 1 ["[T]he term prosecutorial 'misconduct' is somewhat of a misnomer to the extent that it suggests a prosecutor must act with a culpable state of mind. A more apt description of the transgression is prosecutorial error."].)

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