Is a mistake of fact defense defense harmless?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. McCoy, D071703 (Cal. App. 2018):
receiving a stolen vehicle strongly supports the conclusion that any error in failing to instruct the jury on the mistake of fact defense was harmless. (See People v. Campbell (2015) 233 Cal.App.4th 148, 167 ["a jury's determination on a factual issue under other instructions is relevant to determining whether an instructional error is harmless"].)
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