California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Smith, A147308 (Cal. App. 2017):
proceeding without one that defendant knows the report will not benefit him. From this one could infer not only that the error is harmless but also that defendant knowingly waived his right to a supplemental probation report . . . . A defendant should not be allowed to stand silent when the court proceeds without a supplemental probation report, gamble that a trial court will impose a lesser term of imprisonment and then urge reversal for the failure to obtain the report without being required to make some showing that he was prejudiced thereby." (People v. Begnaud (1991) 235 Cal.App.3d 1548, 1556, fn. 7, italics added.) Precisely. Having had two opportunities to speak up and alert the court that he suffered from alcohol-related issues that he believed could bear on sentencing, and having passed on them both, Smith hasn't shown that a different result was more probable had a probation report actually been prepared.
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