Is a failure to instruct a jury fully on the relationship between diminished capacity and involuntary manslaughter prejudicial?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Roberts, 123 Cal.Rptr. 893, 51 Cal.App.3d 125 (Cal. App. 1975):

The failure to instruct fully on the relationship between diminished capacity and involuntary manslaughter was error but not necessarily prejudicial. The prejudicial effect of such error is evaluated by determining whether the factual questions that would be presented by the missing instruction were nonetheless resolved adversely to defendant under other, properly given instructions. If so, defendant is not prejudiced by a failure to instruct completely 'since the evidence that would support a finding that only the lesser offense was committed has been rejected by the jury.' (People v. Sedeno (1974) 10 Cal.3d 703, 721, 112 Cal.Rptr. 1, 13, 518 P.2d 917, 925.)

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