Is a defendant entitled to a jury's decision to instruct the jury on the crime of voluntary manslaughter?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Barton, 12 Cal.4th 186, 47 Cal.Rptr.2d 569, 906 P.2d 531 (Cal. 1995):

Defendant also argues that the trial court's decision to instruct the jury on the crime of voluntary manslaughter violated his right to due process because he had no previous notice that this crime would be charged against him. He acknowledges that under "normal" circumstances, the indictment or the information places the defendant on notice that the prosecution may seek to establish guilt not only of the crimes specified in the charging document, but also of any lesser offenses included within those crimes. (People v. Lohbauer (1981) 29 Cal.3d 364, 369, 173 Cal.Rptr. 453, 627 P.2d 183; see also 1159 [trier of fact "may find the defendant guilty of any offense, the commission of which is necessarily included in that with which he is charged...."].) Defendant asserts, however, that because the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter in this case was "derived through unwanted, inconsistent defense theory instructions," he somehow lacked notice of this crime, and the trial court's instruction on voluntary manslaughter therefore violated due process.

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