Is a federal court's failure to instruct on an element of an offence a constitutional error?

The willful, deliberate, and premeditated nature of an offense is the functional equivalent of an element of that offense. As such, it must be submitted to the jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. (People v. Banks, supra, 59 Cal.4th at p. 1152.) The trial court's failure to properly instruct on an element of an offense may be federal constitutional error because such an error violates the defendant's due process and Sixth Amendment rights to have a jury adjudicate guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Such an error is harmless "if, after conducting a thorough review of the record, the court determines beyond a reasonable doubt that the jury verdict would have been the same absent the error." (Banks, at p. 1153.)