The following excerpt is from U.S. v. Roston, 986 F.2d 1287 (9th Cir. 1993):
The abuse of discretion standard is highly deferential to the trial court. Under this standard of review, "we cannot simply substitute our judgment for that of the district court, but must be left with the definite and firm conviction that the court committed a clear error of judgment in reaching its conclusion after weighing the relevant factors." United States v. BNS Inc., 858 F.2d 456, 464 (9th Cir.1988). Applying this standard, we cannot say that the district court committed a clear error of judgment in refusing to give a voluntary manslaughter instruction.
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