In what circumstances will the court order that a jury be instructed to consider only the evidence presented at trial and not to investigate the facts or the law?

California, United States of America

The following excerpt is from People v. Wentworth, G048224 (Cal. App. 2014):

In any event, we presume the jury followed the trial court's instructions to decide the case on the evidence presented. (See People v. Cruz (2001) 93 Cal.App.4th 69, 73 [appellate court must presume the jury "'meticulously followed the instructions given'"].) The court instructed the jury that the "Evidence" consisted solely of "the sworn testimony of witnesses, the exhibits admitted into evidence, and anything else I told you to consider as evidence." (CALCRIM No. 222.) The jury would understand from this instruction and the instruction not to investigate the facts or the law (CALCRIM No. 201) that evidence outside the trial was beyond its purview, and not subject to speculation. The trial court also instructed the jury unequivocally to decide the case "based only on the evidence that has been presented to you in this trial." (CALCRIM

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