Is a jury wrong to convict a defendant on the basis of a theory that fails to come within the statutory definition of a crime?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Santos, B287906 (Cal. App. 2019):

We now turn to whether the error was prejudicial. "When one of the theories presented to a jury is legally inadequate, such as a theory which ' "fails to come within the statutory definition of the crime" ' [citations], the jury cannot reasonably be expected to divine its legal inadequacy. The jury may render a verdict on the basis of the legally invalid theory without realizing that, as a matter of law, its factual findings are insufficient to constitute the charged crime. In such circumstances, reversal generally is required unless 'it is possible to determine from other portions of the verdict that the jury necessarily found the defendant guilty on a proper theory.' " (People v. Perez (2005) 35 Cal.4th 1219, 1233.)

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