California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Robinson, F050760 (Cal. App. 4/1/2008), F050760 (Cal. App. 2008):
We must determine if it is reasonably probable the jury would have reached a result more favorable to defendant had the cautionary portion of the instruction been given. (People v. Stankewitz (1990) 51 Cal.3d 72, 94.) "`"The purpose of the cautionary instruction is to assist the jury in determining if the statement was in fact made." [Citation.]' [Citation.]" (People v. Dickey (2005) 35 Cal.4th 884, 905.) "Since the cautionary instruction is intended to help the jury to determine whether the statement attributed to the defendant was in fact made, courts examining the prejudice in failing to give the instruction examine the record to see if there was any conflict in the evidence about the exact words used, their meaning, or whether the admissions were repeated accurately. [Citations.]" (People v. Pensinger (1991) 52 Cal.3d 1210, 1268.)
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